SIA, Scoot carry out checks on Boeing 787 fuel switches following Air India crash preliminary report

THE REPORT

The preliminary report noted a cockpit recording where one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off the engine. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.

The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight, given the design of these controls. “There’s no way that you can accidentally knock it and then it goes in the opposite direction,” Mr Chow Kok Wah, a former airline executive in aircraft maintenance, told CNA.

The report said both switches transitioned back from “cutoff” to “run” seconds later, but it was too late to stop the plane’s descent.

In a 2018 advisory, the FAA had 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.

The Air India preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA’s suggested inspections as it was not a mandate.

In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said that the investigation into the crash is “far from over”.

He added that the airline is open to further inquiries and warned against “premature conclusions”.