Air India tragedy fallout: DGCA directs airlines to inspect fuel switches in Boeings | India News

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: India on Monday directed its airlines utilizing sure Boeing plane, just like the B737s and B787 Dreamliners, to examine fuel management swap locking mechanisms on them by July 21.The regulators and airlines of another international locations, like South Korea and the UAE, are additionally doing the identical. The US Federal Aviation Administration had in December 2018 issued a “special airworthiness information bulletin” relating to potential disengagement of the fuel management swap locking mechanism on sure Boeing planes.The directive comes two days after the discharge of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s reliminary report which put the fuel management switches centre-stage in its investigation of the June 12 AI 171 crash that killed 270 individuals. Airlines are required to submit their inspection plans and subsequent studies to DGCA headquarters and related regional places of work.Half of Air India’s Dreamliners cleared in lock swap examine It has come to the discover of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that a number of operators, internationally in addition to home, have initiated inspection on their plane fleet as per the SAIB NM-18-33,” DGCA order said. The inspection requirement affects a wide range of Boeing aircraft, including various 737 series, 747 models, 757 series, 767 variants, and all 787 models. “Strict adherence to the timeline is important to guarantee continued airworthiness and security of operations,” said the order signed by R B Jamir, director of airworthiness.Air India is learned to have checked half of its 33 Dreamliners over the weekend and found nothing wrong with the locking mechanism of those switches. “As and when the remaining Dreamliners fly to India or to a base that has engineering help, they are going to be checked too in the following two days,” said sources. AI Express is also learned to have checked 26 B737s & 49 B737MAX aircraft and not found any defect on them. Vistara’s wet-leased Dreamliners are not registered in India so do not come under the DGCA order.AI had replaced the throttle control module (which houses, among other things, the fuel switches) in 2019 and 2023 on the Dreamliner (VT-ANB) that crashed in Ahmedabad. “However, the rationale for the alternative was not linked to the fuel management swap. There has been no defect reported pertaining to the fuel management swap since 2023 on VT-ANB,” AAIB’s preliminary report says.The preliminary report did not recommend actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers. “Data downloaded from the ahead enhanced airborne flight recorder is being analysed in element… Investigation is continuous and the investigation workforce will assessment and look at further proof, data and knowledge that’s being sought from the stakeholders,” the report said.Meanwhile, news agencies reported that FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe.This is not the first time that airlines and regulators worldwide have stepped away from FAA directives to independently take decisions impacting flight safety. In 2019, a day after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed, it was grounded by 51 aviation regulators worldwide. The regulators, led by China’s Civil Aviation Administration, kept aside FAA’s affirmation of B737 MAX’s airworthiness. Five months earlier, Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s B737 MAX crashed in similar manner during take-off. It was only after the Lion Air crash that Boeing revealed to airlines that it had installed an operating system on the MAX aircraft that lowered the aircraft nose automatically in certain conditions.