India’s aviation regulator ordered a several Boeing models to operate the fuel control switch on Monday, a few days after the investigation of the Air India plane crash last month, it was found that they were flipped off both fuel engines.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India said that the instructions will apply to Boeing 787 Dreamliner and select the Boeing 737 variants and the airlines will have to complete the inspection and submit their findings to the regulator by July 21.
An initial report in the Air India accident, which killed 260 people in the north -western city of Ahmedabad, found that the switches moved within a second of each other, cutting fuel supply to both engines. The report released last week did not conclude why the aircraft crashed. It also did not explain how the switches could flip from run positions to cutoff during the flight.
The speed of the fuel control switch allows and cuts fuel flows into the engines of the aircraft.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed after booth on 12 June. It killed one of 242 people and also 19 people on the ground.
In the report released by the Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation of India, 2018 was advised by the US Federal Aviation Administration, recommending the Airlines operating the Boing model to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switch.
According to the report, the cockpit voice recording caught a moment of confusion among the pilots, asking each other with one why he cut the fuel. The report said, “The other pilot replied that he did not do so.”
Some aviation experts in India estimated that the accident occurred due to human error based on preliminary reports. The associations of at least two commercial pilots have rejected such claims.
In a statement on Sunday, the Indian Commercial Pilot Association said that it was “deeply upset with speculative stories … especially the negligent and unfounded urge to the pilot suicide.”
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said on Monday that a preliminary report in the London-Bound Plane accident did not find any mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft and its engines.
In an internal memorandum for the airline employees viewed by the Associated Press, Wilson said that the report stated that all the mandatory maintenance work of the aircraft had been completed.
He said, “There was no issue with fuel quality and there was no abnormality with take-off rolls. The pilots had passed their compulsory pre-objects and had no observation related to their medical condition,” he said in the note.
After the accident, Indian authorities ordered a deep investigation into the entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet of Air India to prevent future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliner in its fleet.
