Amid growing global scrutiny after the Air India crash probe, the FAA and Boeing have maintained that there is no flaw in the design of Boeing’s fuel switch locks.
As global scrutiny intensifies following the preliminary report on last month’s fatal Air India crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing have reaffirmed the safety of fuel switch locks on Boeing aircraft. On June 12, the airline’s Boeing 787-8 plane operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off and 270 people died in the accident.
In a Continued Airworthiness Notification issued on July 11—just days after India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its initial findings—the FAA stated: “Although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.”
‘Not Recommending Any Action’: Boeing
Boeing, echoing the FAA’s stance, cited the notification in a Multi-Operator Message sent to airlines, according to two sources with direct knowledge, Reuters reported. The planemaker said it was not recommending any action in response to the crash. When asked for comment, Boeing referred Reuters to the FAA, which itself said it had nothing further to add beyond the contents of the notification.
AI Crash Probe Report Questioned Boeing Fuel Cutoff Switches
The FAA and Boeing’s posture comes despite key findings in the AAIB’s preliminary report, which raised questions about the engine fuel cutoff switches aboard the Boeing 787-8 that crashed and killed 260 people. The report referenced a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended—but did not mandate—inspection of the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
According to the report, Air India stated it had not carried out the suggested inspections since the FAA’s advisory was non-binding. Still, maintenance records indicated that the aircraft’s throttle control module—which houses the fuel switches—had been replaced in both 2019 and 2023. The report also noted: “All applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied on the aircraft as well as engines.”
In a striking detail from the crash investigation, cockpit voice recordings revealed that in the flight’s final moments, one pilot asked the other, “Why did you cut off the fuel?” The second pilot responded, “I did not do so.” The report found that both fuel switches had flipped from “run” to “cutoff” shortly after takeoff but did not explain how the switches had changed position mid-flight.
Pilot Body ALPA Reacts
The report’s implications have drawn sharp reactions from pilot representatives. ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, pushed back strongly against any premature conclusion of pilot error and demanded a role in the investigation. “The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers,” said ALPA India President Sam Thomas.
