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India’s aviation regulator on Monday ordered airlines operating several Boeing (NYSE:BA) models to examine fuel control switches, while South Korea ordered a similar measure on Tuesday, after the investigation into last month’s deadly Air India crash found the switches were flipped off, starving both engines of fuel.
India’s directive applies to Boeing (BA) 787 Dreamliners and select Boeing 737 variants and that airlines must complete inspections and submit their findings to the regulator by July 21, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches.
The preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed 260 people noted a 2018 advisory from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which recommended but did not mandate operators of several Boeing (BA) models including the 787 to inspect the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
In an internal memo to airline staff seen by The Associated Press, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the report stated that all mandatory maintenance tasks of the aircraft had been completed.
“There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the take-off roll. The pilots had passed their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser and there were no observations pertaining to their medical status,” Wilson said in the memo.