In brief
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated checks on the fuel control switches of Boeing aircraft, following a tragic crash involving Air India that resulted in 260 fatalities. This directive comes after a preliminary investigation indicated that fuel to the plane’s engines was cut off shortly after takeoff, drawing attention to safety concerns surrounding the switches. The checks must be completed by July 21 to ensure flight safety and airworthiness.
The inquiry centers around a tragic incident involving Air India Flight 171, which occurred in June and is one of the deadliest aviation disasters globally in the last decade. As a response, the DGCA's order aligns with an earlier advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which urged, but did not mandate, operators to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cut-off switches. Despite this advisory being in place since 2018, Air India had not implemented inspections as they were not compulsory.Following the preliminary report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), which identified that the fuel switches had inadvertently been set to the "cut-off" position, various stakeholders in aviation have taken action. The report emphasized that its purpose is not to assign blame, even as the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association defended the crew’s actions under challenging circumstances, asserting they followed their training protocols.In response to the mounting scrutiny, the FAA asserted that while the advisory regarding the locking feature was based on earlier reports, they believe the planes are safe to operate. Additionally, South Korea is reported to be preparing to order inspections for its airlines operating Boeing jets. The ongoing investigation continues to unfold as the industry grapples with the implications of the tragic accident.
