Air India replaced crashed plane’s fuel switch module twice; Boeing says it’s safe

Air India changed a vital cockpit module containing the fuel control switches two times on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that went down last month, in accordance with a Boeing directive from 2019 a news agency reported referencing sources.

The issue has emerged as the US aviation regulator and Boeing assert that the fuel control switches’ design is safe, despite Indian investigators looking into their potential involvement in the tragic crash that resulted in 260 fatalities. The Throttle Control Module (TCM) of the Dreamliner destined for London (registration VT-ANB) was swapped out in 2019 and again in 2023, conforming to Boeing’s Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) which mandates the unit’s replacement every 24,000 flight hours.

The TCM features the fuel control switches, which investigators indicate unexpectedly shifted to “CUTOFF” mere seconds after departure from Ahmedabad on June 12. This shut down both engines, leading the aircraft to suddenly drop in height and crash into a structure.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) mentioned in its preliminary report published on Saturday the TCM changes in 2019 and 2023 but specified that they were unrelated to any recognized issues with the fuel switches. After the initial results of the AAIB investigation, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a Continued Airworthiness Notification on July 11.

The document reviewed by Reuters indicated that the design of the fuel control switch does not create an unsafe condition and eliminated the necessity for a formal Airworthiness Directive. Boeing supported the FAA’s position in a Multi-Operator Message sent to all global 787 operators, advising that no immediate action is needed, sources informed Reuters.

The initial investigation report mentioned a 2018 FAA recommendation that suggested checking the locking mechanism of the fuel cutoff switches to confirm they could not be accidentally shifted. Nevertheless, the advisory was not compulsory, and Air India stated it did not perform the inspection.