AI finds no issues with locking mechanism of fuel control switch in B787 planes: Official
New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI): Air India on Wednesday completed the inspection of the locking mechanism of fuel control switches in its Boeing 787 planes and did not find any issues, according to an airline official.
On Monday, aviation watchdog DGCA directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes against the backdrop of AAIB's preliminary report stating that fuel switches were cut off before the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people last month.
"Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed and no issues were found," the official said, quoting an internal message sent to Air India pilots.
The official also said that all the Boeing 787-8 aircraft have undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule. FCS is part of this module.
FCS regulate the flow of fuel into the aircraft engines. In its preliminary report on the Boeing 787-8 crash released on Saturday, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after take off.
A 15-page preliminary investigation report into the Air India plane crash revealed fuel-control switches of the two engines moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position, within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude.
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said.
AAIB, which mentioned about FAA's SAIB in the report, did not suggest any recommended action.
The airline has also asked pilots to remain vigilant and report any defect in the technical log, as per the existing reporting process, the official added.
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Dharmasthala Mass Burial Case: Complainant appears before SIT, questioned for over seven hours
Mangaluru: In a major development in the Dharmasthala mass burial case, the whistleblower, a former sanitation worker appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Mangaluru on Saturday, July 26. He was questioned for more than seven hours and recorded his statement before investigating officer Jitendra Kumar Dayama.
According to sources, the complainant’s legal team received a notice late on Friday night, July 25, summoning him for questioning at the newly established SIT office located at the PWD Inspection Bungalow (IB) in Mallikatte, Kadri. Two rooms within the bungalow have been reserved for the SIT’s operations.
A day earlier, senior officials from the SIT, including DIG M N Anucheth and DySP Dayama, reached Mangaluru and officially took over the case files from the Dakshina Kannada district police. The SIT is currently examining land survey records and other crucial documents related to the alleged burial sites as part of the probe.
The case, which has triggered widespread concern, is based on a complaint filed by the former employee who claimed that he had buried the bodies of several women and children on instructions from his superiors over a period spanning 20 years between 1995 and 2015. The complainant also submitted skeletal remains, reportedly exhumed from one of the alleged burial sites, as evidence to support his claims.
The Mangaluru rural police had registered a case based on the complaint on July 4. Following public pressure and demands for a fair probe, the Karnataka government constituted the Special Investigation Team on July 19.
The SIT is headed by senior IPS officer DGP Pronab Mohanty, who is also in charge of the Internal Security Division and Cyber Command. His appointment came after the complainant’s legal team appealed to the government to assign an impartial officer to lead the investigation.
