The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
Air India replaced the Throttle Control Module (TCM) of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane twice in the last six years following a directive from Boeing in 2019, sources said on Sunday. The replacement of the TCM twice -- in 2019 and 2023 -- was mentioned in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary probe report into the crash that was released on Saturday.
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
Pilot groups have accused the AAIB of portraying the pilots as responsible for the incident, with vague and selective presentation of cockpit conversations.
'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism.'
'Visualise those 15 to 18 seconds: Fully loaded aircraft, pilot manually controlling with both hands (no autopilot immediately after takeoff), looking forward while switches are behind.'
'The switch can't be shut off by an accidental brush of the hand, but needs effort, conscious physical action to operate it.' 'Was it the software of the aeroplane that caused the switch to turn off?' 'Was it the hardware of the aeroplane?' 'Was it both software and hardware put together?'
'If anything happened out of the normal, there would be instantaneous ECAM, EICAS warnings, the master caution or master warnings going off.' 'It would be like a Christmas tree in the cockpit if things start going wrong.'
SpiceJet is the only Boeing 737 MAX operator in India, with 13 aircraft of the type in its fleet and a total of 205 planes on order.
The US is set for a geographically limited 5G rollout this Christmas, after a bumper $81 billion spectrum auction earlier this year. Just as the rollout date nears, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sounded alarm bells over potentially fatal consequences of 5G interference on aircraft. Similar consequences could apply in India, where 5G spectrum auction is scheduled in January 2022, with the rollout beginning later next year (though reports suggest impending delays).
