Air India Plane Crash: The preliminary investigation report of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad in Ahmedabad has come out. This report has revealed that in 2018, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a special aircraft information bulletin (Saib No. NM-18-33) and warned about the possible problem of the removal of the locking feature of fuel control switch in Boeing aircraft. This bulletin was also involved in the planes like B787-8. Was.
What is the problem of locking feature of fuel control switch?
The fuel control switch locking feature is a safety system that prevents unintentional operation between fuel supply and cut-offs of the aircraft engine. The FAA report said that if this locking feature becomes inactive, then the switch can be replaced between the two positions (On and Off) without picking up the switch, which can lead to a serious event like unknowing engine shutdown.
FAA reported ignored
The report also stated that this warning of FAA was not mandatory, but was only advisory, so inspections related to it were not done. This is an important point, because if it had been investigated in time, the accident could have been avoided. Retired pilot Captain Ehsan Khalid of IAF said that the fuel cut-off switch is run physically by the pilot, it is not automatic. He said, ‘If the movement of the fuel cut-off switch has been recorded, then it is a sign of an attempt by the pilot to resume the engine. But the truth is that the power of the engine itself was closed, the pilot did not give any input, it is clear from the report.