India yesterday ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models, while South Korea said it would order a similar measure, as scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the centre of an investigation into a deadly Air India crash.
The moves by India and South Korea came despite the planemaker and the US Federal Aviation Administration telling airlines and regulators in recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing jets are safe.
The locks have come under scrutiny following last month’s crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people. A preliminary report found that the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cut-off shortly after take-off.
The report noted a 2018 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models including the 787 to inspect the locking feature of fuel cut-off switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing models including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches.
The regulator oversees the world’s third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market and its move raises the stakes for Boeing, whose aircraft are used by three of the country’s four largest airlines.
A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said checks there were in line with the 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for them.
Boeing referred Reuters’ questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment outside regular hours.
Some other global airlines were weighing their own inspections or had begun their own checks.
In a statement, Japan’s JAL said safety was its top priority, adding, “We are closely monitoring the investigation into the incident and will implement any necessary inspections based on its findings.”
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