Air India Finds No Issues With Locking Mechanism Of Fuel Control Switch In Boeing 787 Planes
An Air India official said that all the Boeing 787-8 aircraft have undergone Throttle Control Module replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule.
Air India has found no issues with the locking mechanism of fuel control switches in Boeing 787-8 planes after completing their inspections, said an airline official.
The Tata Group airline ran the checks in accordance with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation order issued on July 14.
The aviation safety regulator had directed airlines to complete inspection of fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes by July 21. This directive came in the backdrop of Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's preliminary report stating that fuel control switches were cut off before the Air India plane, AI 171, crashed last month, killing at least 275 people.
"Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of FCS (Fuel Control Switch) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed and no issues were found," the company said on Wednesday. This was an internal update that has gone to pilots from the flight operations team.
The official also said that all the Boeing 787-8 aircraft have undergone Throttle Control Module replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule. The FCS is part of this module.
FCS regulate the flow of fuel into the aircraft engines. In its preliminary report on the Boeing 787-8 crash released on Saturday, the AAIB said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after take off.
A 15-page preliminary investigation report into the Air India plane crash revealed fuel-control switches of the two engines moved from the 'run' to the 'cutoff' position, within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude.
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said.
AAIB, which mentioned about FAA's SAIB in the report, did not suggest any recommended action.
The airline has also asked pilots to remain vigilant and report any defect in the technical log, as per the existing reporting process, the official added.
