Flydubai joins Middle East airlines checking Boeing jets' fuel switches after Air India crash report

Saudia and Oman Air are also conducting inspections

Wreckage of the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane near Ahmedabad Airport in India. Reuters

Flydubai has joined several other airlines in the Middle East in checking the cockpit fuel switches on their Boeing aircraft, following the Air India crash investigation report.

A preliminary report last week linked the fatal crash of an Air India plane in June to the fuel supply to its engines cutting off.

The UAE's aviation authorities have instructed national airlines to inspect the fuel switches on the Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft in their fleets.

“In line with guidance from the relevant authorities, we have commenced precautionary inspections of the fuel switches on our Boeing 737 aircraft,” a flydubai spokesperson said.

Etihad Airways, which operates 787 wide-body aircraft, said it “always ensures its maintenance is fully compliant”.

Elsewhere in the region, Saudia said it had completed precautionary inspections on the fuel shut-off switch system across its 787 fleet.

“These checks were conducted in co-ordination with the relevant aviation parties,” it said. “All aircraft remain fully operational, and guest and crew safety continues to be our highest priority.”

Oman Air said it has finished checks on its 787s and is completing inspections of its 737s.

Sole survivor of Air India plane crash recounts moment aircraft came down

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The Air India aircraft – a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and at least 19 on the ground.

According to the preliminary investigation report, the flight lasted about 30 seconds between take-off and crashing. Once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, “the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position one after another” within a second, it said.

Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said in Singapore on Wednesday that there is a “strong argument” to install cockpit cameras that would help aviation safety authorities investigating accidents such as the Air India crash, Bloomberg reported.

On Tuesday, Air India said it had performed additional precautionary checks on its Boeing 787 aircraft and would partially restore its international flight schedule, which it had scaled back after the crash.