Air India crash: US FAA, Boeing say fuel switch module replaced twice, rule out safety lapse
The clarification follows India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report on June 12 crash in it referred to 2018 FAA advisory about the engine fuel cutoff switches in the plane.
PTC News Desk: The US Federation Aviation Authority (FAA) and Boeing have privately issued a notification and ruled out safety lapse in the plane that crashed in Ahmedabad citing fuel switch locks were replaced twice.
The clarification follows India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report on June 12 crash in it referred to 2018 FAA advisory about the engine fuel cutoff switches in the plane.
The Throttle Control Module (TCM) of the London-bound Dreamliner (registration VT-ANB) was replaced in 2019 and again in 2023, in line with Boeing's Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) that requires the unit to be changed every 24,000 flight hours.
According to cockpit voice recordings recovered from the crash site, the aircraft’s fuel control switches were moved to "CUTOFF" one after the other, just a second apart, right after takeoff.
“Why did you cut off the fuel?” one pilot was heard asking.
“I did not do so,” the other responded.
The AAIB said both engines momentarily recovered before failing again, even after the switches were moved back to "RUN." The plane failed to gain sufficient altitude and crashed within minutes.
However the cause behind the fuel cutoff switch remains under scrutiny.