NEW DELHI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- India's civil aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing airplanes.
The DGCA said airlines should complete the inspection and confirm compliance by July 21 in line with the Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins (SAIB) issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The SAIB was regarding the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature.
The move came days after India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary report on last month's B787-8 aircraft crash in the western state of Gujarat, found that the fuel to the engines of the plane was cut off following confusion over the engine switch movement in the cockpit between pilots.
"DGCA issues mandatory modifications for aircraft/engines/components registered in India based on the Airworthiness Directives issued by the State of Design/Manufacture. It has come to the notice of DGCA that several operators, internationally as well as domestically, have initiated inspections on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB NM-18-33 dated 17th December 2018," the aviation regulator said.
Fuel control switches regulate the flow of fuel into aircraft engines.
Reports say Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet are among domestic carriers operating Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft.
The 15-page report from the AAIB, published one month after the deadly crash, provided the first official account of the final moments of India's worst aviation accident in decades and raised new questions about what caused the simultaneous dual-engine failure.
The report did not suggest any significant fault with the plane or its engines. It has not recommended any action for the manufacturer or operators of the B787-8 aircraft at the current stage of the investigation.
Also on Monday, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said the AAIB report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed.
In addition, an association of commercial pilots in India has expressed its wish to be part of the investigation into the tragedy.
In a strong reaction to the AAIB initial report, president of the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA-India) Sam Thomas said that the body wanted transparency regarding the investigation.
"We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots, and we strongly object to this line of thought," said an ALPA-India statement.
The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board. ■
