Ahmedabad plane crash: Air India finds no issues in Boeing 787, 737 fuel control switches

Tata Group-owned Air India on Tuesday said it has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all Boeing 787  and Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet and no issues were found in the system.

The inspections were held following a directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation last week.

The aviation regulator’s direction came after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said in its preliminary report that fuel switches were cut off before the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last month.

“With the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism. Air India had started voluntary inspections on 12 July and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the DGCA. The same has been communicated to the regulator,” the airline said in a statement.

Air India remains committed to the safety of passengers  and crew members, it added.

Air India  flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, from Ahmedabad to London crashed into a medical hostel soon after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. All but one of the 242 passengers and 19 others  on the ground lost their lives in the mishap.

The AAIB, in its preliminary report, claimed that 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 takeoff. 

"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.