Air India Completes Inspections Following Fatal Crash Investigation

The airline's inspections yielded no issues with fuel switch mechanisms, crucial to the crash inquiry of a devastating incident last month.

Air India confirmed on Tuesday that it had completed inspections of its Boeing fleet and found no discrepancies with the locking mechanisms of their fuel switches, a feature under intense scrutiny following a recent fatal crash. Last month, 260 lives were lost when an Air India Boeing 787-8, bound for London, crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, India.

The investigation into the incident's cause is expected to take an extensive period, possibly months or years. However, an initial report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau revealed that just seconds before the crash, the aircraft's fuel switches—which regulate the fuel flow to the engines—shifted positions. Safety experts suggest that such a change is unlikely to occur without human intervention, and the design of the fuel switches includes locking mechanisms to prevent accidental shifts.

In light of the disaster, Indian aviation regulators mandated inspections of all similar fuel systems across airlines. Air India, the country's primary carrier, reported that precautionary checks conducted on its fleet did not reveal any issues concerning the locking mechanisms.

Details surrounding the June 12 incident involving Air India Flight 171 indicate that the fuel switches for both engines transitioned from the "RUN" position to "CUTOFF" within seconds of each other. This drastic alteration halted fuel supply, leading to an alarming loss of altitude.

The preliminary findings include a transmission from one pilot to another regarding the cutoff, with the latter denying having made such a change. Although the switches were eventually repositioned to restore fuel flow, the aircraft did not regain sufficient power in time to avoid its fatal descent.

Further reports will continue to develop as investigations proceed.