UK regulator flagged Boeing fuel switches: Air India crash; UK authority had flagged Boeing fuel switches four weeks ago

Four weeks before the Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had flagged fuel control switches on several Boeing aircraft and ordered daily inspections.
On May 15, the UK aviation regulator issued a safety notice in which it advised operators of five Boeing models, including the 787 Dreamliner, to review the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD) and determine whether it would affect their fleet. The FAA’s directive had identified fuel shutoff valve actuators as a safety concern.
“The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) addressing an unsafe condition affecting fuel shutoff valves installed on Boeing aircraft: B737, B757, B767, B777, and B787,” the CAA notice states.
The regulator directed airline operators to test, inspect, or replace fuel shutoff valve actuators on Boeing 787 aircraft.
In addition, the safety notice specifically mandated daily inspections of fuel shutoff valves on aircraft affected by the AD.
The issue came to light after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India, in its initial report on the Air India accident, noted that the fuel control switches, which controlled the flow of fuel to each engine, unexpectedly moved to "cutoff" shortly after takeoff, causing both engines to fail.
What's Your Reaction?






