UK aviation authority flagged Boeing 787 fuel switch issue a month before AI crash in Ahmedabad

A month before the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had issued a notice warning Boeing operators to inspect fuel shutoff valves on their aircraft.

According to the preliminary AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) report, cockpit voice recordings revealed that after take-off, one pilot questioned why the fuel switch had been cut off, to which the other pilot responded that he had not done so. Although they switched it back to the ‘on’ position, it was reportedly too late, and the aircraft crashed shortly after.

Following the AAIB findings, it has emerged that the UK CAA had issued a safety notice to Boeing operators a month before the incident, instructing staff to take appropriate action to check the fuel shutoff valves.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had also issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) addressing a potential unsafe condition related to fuel shutoff valves on Boeing aircraft, including daily checks, inspections, and potential replacement of fuel shutoff valve actuators on the Boeing 787.

Under the directive, operators were required to ensure checks were conducted by engineering teams or flight crew, with the process and amendments recorded and approved by the CAA’s Flight Operations Inspector. Any failures identified during these checks were to be logged in the aircraft’s technical records, with defects rectified in accordance with the applicable safety requirements.

According to the report investigating the Ahmedabad crash, a 2018 FAA advisory had warned about the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch lock. However, Air India did not act on it, as it was non-mandatory.