International airlines are preparing to inspect their Boeing fleets after a preliminary investigation into last month’s fatal Air India crash identified flaws linked to the plane’s fuel cutoff switches.
The engines of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner — which caused the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade with 260 deaths — were starved of fuel when cutoff switches suddenly flipped mid-flight, according to a preliminary report released Saturday by India’s aircraft investigators. The Air India plane crashed on June 12 after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, leaving one British national as the sole survivor.
The crash has renewed scrutiny over the design and placement of critical fuel cutoff switches, prompting South Korea to launch examinations across its airlines’ Boeing fleets, a South Korean Ministry of Transport spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business on Monday. Air India Group has also begun checking its Boeing aircraft for similar issues, according to Reuters.
Air India Group reportedly began inspecting the fuel switches on its Boeing fleets over the weekend. Half of its 787s and nearly all its 737s have already been examined, with full inspections expected to be completed within days, Reuters said. So far, no faults have been reported.
DOOMED AIR INDIA FLIGHT LOST ENGINE FUEL MID-FLIGHT, COCKPIT CHAOS REVEALED IN REPORT
The spokesperson for South Korea’s transport ministry did not provide a specific timeframe for when the inspections would begin or be completed.
Air India and airlines from South Korea did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday from FOX Business.
ONLY SURVIVOR OF DEADLY AIR INDIA PLANE CRASH SAYS SURVIVAL WAS A ‘MIRACLE’
In 2018, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin warning that some Boeing 737 fuel switches had been installed with their locking features disengaged, according to India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). However, the issue was not considered hazardous enough to warrant mandatory repairs or actions under federal aviation rules, the advisory said.
The FAA reaffirmed its original assessment in a statement on Friday and noted that investigators to date “found no urgent safety concerns related to the engines or airplane systems of the Boeing Model 787-8.”
“Although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787,” the agency said. “The FAA will continue to share relevant information with foreign civil aviation authorities as appropriate.”
LONDON-BOUND PLANE CARRYING MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE CRASHES AFTER TAKEOFF IN INDIA
On Sunday, Boeing and the FAA privately issued notifications to airlines and regulators, saying that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes were safe and checks were not required, Reuters reported, citing a document and sources.
Boeing declined to comment Monday to FOX Business.
The Air India preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA’s suggested inspections, as the FAA’s 2018 advisory was not a mandate.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Read the full article here
