Amid Air India probe, US FAA, Boeing notify fuel switch locks are safe, document, sources say
By David Shepardson, Abhijith Ganapavaram and Allison Lampert, Reuters - July 14, 2025
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/amid-air-india-probe-us-faa-boeing-notify-fuel-switch-locks-are-safe-document-2025-07-13/
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, a document seen by Reuters showed and four sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The FAA’s Continued Airworthiness Notification on July 11 came after a preliminary report into Air India’s Boeing 787-8 crash, which killed 260 people last month, raised questions over engine fuel cutoff switches.
The FAA’s notification to Civil Aviation Authorities, seen by Reuters, said: “although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.” ….
South Korea to order airlines to check Boeing fuel switches, Air India inspects fleet
By Lisa Barrington and Abhijith Ganapavaram, Reuters - July 14, 2025
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/south-korea-preparing-order-airlines-check-fuel-switches-boeing-jets-2025-07-14/
South Korea is preparing to order all airlines in the country that operate Boeing jets to examine the fuel switches at the centre of an investigation into a deadly Air India crash that killed 260 people.
Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a 2018 advisory from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) figured in a preliminary report into last month’s crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 jet.
A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said the checks were in line with a 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.
In the Air India crash, the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff just after takeoff, but the preliminary report did not say how they could have flipped during flight.
Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its Boeing 787 and 737 fleets and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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In its 2018 advisory, the FAA recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
On Sunday, citing a document and sources, Reuters reported that the planemaker and the FAA had privately issued notifications to airlines and regulators that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes were safe and checks were not required. ……
