UK Regulator Flagged Fuel Switch Flaws In Boeing Jets Weeks Before AI1717 Crash
The FAA, in a notification issued on July 11, maintained that the fuel control switch design does not pose any safety risks, and Boeing echoed that view.
With the investigation into the fatal crash of Air India flight—AI171—zeroing in on the involvement of fuel control switches as one of the potential causes, it has now emerged that the UK Civil Aviation Authority had warned about a similar fuel system flaw on Boeing aircraft just about a month earlier.
On May 15, 2024, the UK regulator issued a directive to operators of five Boeing aircraft variants—including the 787 Dreamliner that was involved in the Ahmedabad tragedy—urging them to review and address a US Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Directive. The FAA directive had flagged fuel shutoff valve actuators, critical to preventing fuel leaks and engine shutdowns, as a potential safety concern.
The CAA notice explicitly listed the Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, and 787 models and directed airlines to take mandatory action by either testing, inspecting, or replacing fuel shutoff valve actuators on affected planes as a precaution. Moreover, the safety notice specifically ordered daily checks of the fuel shutoff valves to mitigate any risks.
The matter came to the fore after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India noted in its preliminary report on the Air India crash that fuel control switches, which manage the flow of fuel to each engine, unexpectedly moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' seconds after liftoff, causing both engines to shut down. The report raised questions about the reliability of the switch mechanism and the adequacy of pre-flight inspections.
The AAIB report referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally. Air India did not inspect the locking mechanism of the fuel cutoff switches, despite the FAA advisory recommending such checks. The Tata Group airline defended its decision, stating that the advisory was not mandatory, and therefore it chose not to carry out the inspections.
The FAA, in a notification issued on July 11, maintained that the fuel control switch design does not pose any safety risks, and Boeing echoed that view. However, the UK CAA’s directive in May mandated urgent operator-level action, with checks required and compliance to be documented.
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India's aviation safety regulator, DGCA, on Monday directed airlines operating Boeing 737s and 787 Dreamliners to inspect fuel control switch locking mechanisms by July 21. This directive aligns with similar actions by regulators in South Korea and the UAE, prompted by a 2018 FAA bulletin.
Major foreign airlines, including Etihad and Singapore Airlines, have begun checking the fuel control switch locking mechanisms on their Boeing 787 fleets. An Air India official also said the airline started the checks on Saturday and completed them on half of its 33 Dreamliners so far and didn't find any defects.
