Fuel Switches Didn’t Fail? FAA Backs Boeing 787 Safety After Fatal Air India Plane Crash

Air India Plane Crash Report:  While India keeps probing the tragic Air India Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad last month that claimed 260 lives, fresh documents and sources indicate that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing have informed global aviation authorities privately that the fuel switch locking systems on Boeing airplanes are still safe and do not present an airworthiness concern.

In a document viewed by Reuters and based on comments from four individuals close to the issue, the FAA made a Continued Airworthiness Notification dated July 11, stating that the fuel control switch design with the lock feature is the same across different Boeing aircraft models but does not call for an Airworthiness Directive (AD) for any Boeing aircraft, including the Dreamliner 787 series. On being asked for a statement, the FAA responded by saying it had "nothing to add beyond the notice." Boeing, too, left all questions to the FAA and emphasized the same position in a Multi-Operator Message issued to airlines flying its planes recently, sources cited by Reuters confirmed.

Preliminary Air India Crash Report Highlights Cockpit Confusion

The reassurance by the FAA comes after India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report on the June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad. The report concluded that both engines' fuel cutoff switches were turned off from the RUN position to the CUTOFF position just seconds after take-off, leading to the complete loss of power and a fatal crash within 30 seconds. Dramatically, cockpit voice recordings caught one pilot asking another why he had shut off the fuel, only for the second pilot to deny he had done so. The AAIB report quoted no obvious explanation yet as to how the switches traveled.

Fuel contamination was also ruled out by investigators, who certified that samples of fuel analyzed in DGCA's laboratory were acceptable. The AAIB report certified that all airworthiness directives and service bulletins needed were met and added that the throttle control module, which contains the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023. At this point, the AAIB has advised no operators of Boeing 787-8 airplanes or their GE GEnx-1B engines make any immediate modifications, subject to further investigation.

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2018 FAA Advisory Resurfaces

The report refers to a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended, but did not mandate for the airlines to inspect the locking mechanism of fuel cutoff switches on certain Boeing models, including the 787. Air India stated it did not conduct the suggested checks since they were non-compulsory. In the meantime, ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, has dismissed reports of pilot mistakes and has called for a "fair, fact-based investigation." ALPA India president Sam Thomas demanded that the body of pilots should be included in the investigation as observers, a call backed by two veteran US aviation safety experts.

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Veteran pilot John Cox, a past ALPA US representative, characterized the AAIB's report as "objective and fair" but concurred that pilot representatives must be part of it to make it transparent. The AAIB confirmed wreckage recovery and surveys by drone are now done, with engines both secured for close analysis. Restricted residual fuel samples will be tested further in specialized labs. The Ahmedabad crash is the first fatal hull loss of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and is one of India's worst aviation disasters in decades.