&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Ahmedabad plane crash: Fuel switch issues overlooked? US had flagged technical snag in 2018")
The preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash has highlighted a key issue, which was flagged by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2018 on Boeing 737 jets. The report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday (Jul 12) revealed that the fuel had been cut off to both engines during the takeoff of Air India flight AI-171. The flight carrying 242 people onboard crashed shortly after lifting off on June 12, killing 260, including students in the hostel it crashed into near the airport in Ahmedabad, leaving only one survivor onboard.
In December 2018, the US aviation regulator issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB), highlighting that the fuel control switches on some Boeing 737 aircraft were installed with the locking feature disengaged. However, the issue was only mentioned in an advisory and wasn’t deemed unsafe. An Airworthiness Directive, which is a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in an aircraft, was not issued.
It is interesting to note that the same switch design is used in a Boeing 787-8 jet, including Air India's VT-ANB, which was involved in the crash on June 12. Since the bulletin issued by the FAA was an advisory and not mandatory, Air India did not perform the recommended inspections on the aircraft.
How do fuel switches work?
The fuel control switches, which have become a focal point of the investigation into the Air India crash, are switches that regulate the flow of fuel into an aircraft’s engines. Pilots use the switch to start or stop engines. These switches are also used to restart the engines in case of an engine failure.
The locking features on the switches prevent unintentional or mistaken movement of the switches. When the lock is disengaged, the switches can potentially be moved even by vibration, accidental touch, or other factors.
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What did preliminary report reveal?
The preliminary report, released a month after the crash, revealed that the engines’ fuel switches shifted from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ within seconds of each other after take-off. The report added that there was no immediate evidence of sabotage, but pointed to a known Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory on a possible fuel switch flaw. The revelation has puzzled the investigators and experts, as the reason behind the turning off of the switch remains a mystery.
