DGCA orders checks on Boeing fuel switch locks

India's civil aviation regulator on Monday ordered airlines to inspect the locking mechanism of fuel switches on all Boeing 787 and 737 jets by July 21, two days after a preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster that killed 260 people.

- Neha LM Tripathi

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report, released in the early hours of Saturday, said the fuel control switches were found in the “cutoff” position, triggering a global debate over whether pilot action or mechanical failure caused India's worst single-aircraft aviation disaster.

“All air operators of the affected aircraft are hereby advised to complete the inspection required under SAIB Number NM-18-33, dated 17th December 2018, no later than 21st July 2025,” said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) advisory.

“Strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations,” added the body.

Indian airlines operate around 150 Boeing 737 and 787 craft. Air India has 33 787s.

Monday's order comes amid swelling global scrutiny of the Honeywell 4TL837-3D model fuel switches that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is equipped with, after AAIB's report cited a 2018 US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bulletin warning of potential problems with fuel control switch locking mechanisms on Boeing aircraft, including the 787.

To be sure, the FAA at the time recommended, but did not mandate, an inspection of the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.

On Monday, Etihad, the second-largest airline in the United Arab Emirates, urged all its pilots to check the fuel switches on 787 aircraft in its fleet.

Fuel switches are crucial components in the heart of an aircraft's cockpit that control the flow of fuel to the engines. The twin-engine Boeing 787, which crashed in Ahmedabad, has one switch for each engine.