15/07/2025

TUESDAY | JULY 15, 2025

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Fuel switch locks are safe, say FAA, Boeing

GROUPS REJECT PILOT ERROR CLAIMS NEW DELHI: Two major commercial pilots’ associations have rejected claims human error caused an Air India crash that killed 260 people after a preliminary investigation report found the plane’s engine fuel switches had been turned off. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association said it was“deeply disturbed by speculative narratives ... particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide”. “There is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage,” it said in a statement on Sunday, adding, “it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved.” “To casually suggest pilot suicide without verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession.” The Airline Pilots’ Association of India accused the probe agency of “secrecy” surrounding the investigation, saying “suitably qualified personnel” were not involved in it. – AFP PROBE FAR FROM OVER: AIR INDIA CEO NEW DELHI: The probe into last month’s crash is far from over and it is unwise to jump to any premature conclusions, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in an internal memo yesterday. The memo, reviewed by Reuters, said: “The release of the preliminary report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place. Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions. The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over.” The memo said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. – Reuters SEOUL TO ORDER FUEL SWITCH CHECKS SEOUL: South Korea is preparing to order all airlines in the country that operate Boeing jets to examine fuel switches. Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a mention of a 2018 advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 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 inspections. Boeing referred Reuters’ questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment outside regular hours. In the 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. – Reuters

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o Notice advises no action, sources say

Thomas said on Sunday. ALPA India, in a letter posted on X, said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory “concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction”. In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said. It said fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight. Two US safety experts said on Saturday they backed ALPA India’s request to be observers in the investigation, but said the report did not suggest a bias toward pilot error. John Cox, a pilot and former ALPA US representative, said AAIB’s report seemed objective and fair. – Reuters

cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally. The report said Air India had said it had not carried out the FAA’s suggested inspections as the FAA 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash. The report noted “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied on the aircraft as well as engines”. ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, in a statement on Saturday rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a “fair, fact based inquiry”. “The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers,” ALPA India President Sam

consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.” When asked for comment, the FAA said it did not have anything to add beyond the notification. Boeing also referred to the FAA notification in a Multi-Operator Message sent to the airlines in the past few days, which said the planemaker is not recommending any action, two of the sources with direct knowledge said. When asked for comment, Boeing referred Reuters’ questions to the FAA. The preliminary investigation report into the crash by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel

WASHINGTON: The US 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

THRILLS, SPILLS AND CHAOS ... Thrill-seekers running with bulls from the La Palmosilla ranch at the entrance to the bullring during the seventh running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Sunday. – AFPPIC

South Korea medical students end boycott SEOUL: Thousands of South Korean medical students are set to return to classrooms after a 17-month boycott, an industry body said yesterday, ending part of a standoff which also saw junior doctors strike. away from hospitals and medical students to boycott their classrooms, with operations cancelled and service provision disrupted nationwide. The measure was later watered down, and the government The Korean Medical Students’ Association said in an earlier statement that the students had reached this decision because a continued boycott “could cause the collapse of the fundamentals of medical systems”.

In addition to the student boycott, some 12,000 junior doctors went on strike last year – with the majority of them still declining to return to work. Lee, who took office in June after winning snap elections following Yoon’s removal from office, had said on the campaign trail he would seek to resolve the medical strike. The increase in medical school admissions led to a record number of students re-taking the college entrance exam in November in a bid to capitalise on reforms that made it easier to get into coveted majors. – AFP

eventually offered to scrap it in March 2025, after Yoon was impeached over his disastrous declaration of martial law. “Students have agreed to return to school,” said a spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association, adding that it was up to each medical school to decide the schedule for student returns.

South Korean healthcare was plunged into chaos early last year when then-president Yoon Suk Yeol moved to sharply increase medical school admissions, citing an urgent need to boost doctor numbers to meet growing demand in a rapidly aging society. The initiative met fierce protests, prompting junior doctors to walk

Some 8,300 students are expected to return to school, but no specific timeline has been provided. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok welcomed the decision, calling it a “big step forward” in a Facebook post on Sunday, adding President Lee Jae Myung was deliberating ways to solve the issue.