Etihad Orders Fuel Switch Checks on Boeing 787 Fleet; South Korea Plans Similar Move

Etihad Airways has issued a directive to its pilots to exercise caution while handling fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 aircraft, The Hindu reported. The airline has also initiated a technical investigation into the functioning of these switches.

The move comes on the same day as the release of a preliminary report on the June 12 Air India Express crash in Ahmedabad, which revealed that both fuel switches on the ill-fated flight had flipped from the ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ positions shortly after take-off.

Etihad’s bulletin, dated July 12, instructs pilots to avoid placing any objects on the pedestal area to prevent accidental switch movement and urges them to report any anomalies. Additionally, engineers have been directed to inspect the locking mechanisms of the fuel switches across the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet, following a detailed checklist.

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is reportedly preparing similar checks for Boeing aircraft operated by its domestic carriers, though a timeline has yet to be announced.

These actions follow a 2018 FAA advisory recommending inspections of the locking feature in fuel control switches across Boeing models. While the FAA and Boeing maintain that the issue does not present an unsafe condition warranting an Airworthiness Directive, airlines are acting out of what Etihad described as “an abundance of caution.”