FAA Says No Signs of Mechanical Issue in 787 Fuel Control Unit After Air India Crash

The Administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Michael Whitaker, stated that there appears to be no indication of mechanical failure in the fuel control unit of the Boeing 787 aircraft involved in last month’s fatal Air India crash.

“We can say with a high level of confidence it doesn’t appear to be a mechanical issue with the Boeing fuel control unit,” Whitaker said during a press briefing at the EAA AirVenture airshow in Wisconsin. He added that FAA personnel had removed and tested the relevant components and carried out inspections on similar aircraft. “We feel very comfortable that this isn’t an issue with inadvertent manipulation of fuel control.”

A preliminary report released earlier this month by by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) noted that the aircraft’s fuel control switches had nearly simultaneously moved from “run” to “cutoff” shortly after takeoff, leading to a dual engine shutdown.

The switches in question regulate the flow of fuel to the engines, enabling start-up and shutdown, and providing manual override capability during abnormal situations. The AAIB’s preliminary findings raised questions about whether the switches had been intentionally or inadvertently manipulated.

Boeing and Air India have not commented on the FAA’s remarks. However, Air India confirmed this week that it has completed precautionary inspections of fuel control switch locking mechanisms across its fleet of Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft, reporting no anomalies.

While the FAA has emphasized that its own review found no mechanical fault, the broader investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash remains ongoing.