Amid Air India probe, US FAA and Boeing notify fuel switch locks are safe

WASHINGTON: The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, a document seen by Reuters showed, and four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The FAA's Continued Airworthiness Notification on Jul 11 came after a preliminary report into Air India's Boeing 787-8 crash, which killed 260 people last month, raised questions over engine fuel cutoff switches.

The FAA's notification to Civil Aviation Authorities, seen by Reuters, said: "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."

When asked for comment, the FAA said it did not have anything to add beyond the notification.

Boeing also referred to the FAA notification in a Multi-Operator-Message sent to the airlines in the past few days, which said the planemaker is not recommending any action, two of the sources with direct knowledge said.

When asked for comment, Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA.

The preliminary investigation report into the crash by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally.

The report said Air India had said it had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections, as the FAA 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.

The report noted "all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied on the aircraft as well as engines".

PROBE "FAR FROM OVER"

Separately, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said on Monday that the investigation into the crash is "far from over".  In an internal memo seen by Reuters, he said the airline is open to further inquiries and warned against "premature conclusions".

A preliminary report on Saturday showed confusion in the cockpit shortly before the Air India jetliner crashed. The report stated that the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.

In the flight's final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. "The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade released by Indian accident investigators.

The memo added that the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. 

ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, in a statement on Saturday (Jun 12) rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a "fair, fact-based inquiry".

"The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," ALPA India President Sam Thomas told Reuters on Sunday.

ALPA India, in a letter posted on X, said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory "concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction".

Two US safety experts said on Saturday they backed ALPA India's request to be observers in the probe, but said the investigation report did not suggest a bias toward pilot error.

John Cox, a pilot and former ALPA US representative, said AAIB's report seemed objective and fair.