*

FAA's 2018 advisory recommended inspections, did not order

them

*

South Korea orders its airlines to check switches

*

Several airlines make checks, others have done so since

2018

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Air India finds no issues in fuel switch checks yet,

source says

By Abhijith Ganapavaram and Lisa Barrington

NEW DELHI, July 14 (Reuters) - India on Monday ordered

its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing ( BA ) aircraft

models while South Korea ordered a similar measure on Tuesday,

as scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the centre of an

investigation into a deadly Air India crash.

The precautionary moves by the two countries and airlines in

several others came despite the planemaker and the U.S. Federal

Aviation Administration assuring airlines and regulators in

recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing ( BA ) jets are safe.

A preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed

260 people found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped

from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff.

One pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the

other why he had cut off the fuel. "The other pilot responded

that he did not do so," the report said.

The report noted a 2018 advisory from the FAA, 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.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had

issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing ( BA ) models,

including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international

airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches.

The regulator oversees the world's third-largest and

fastest-growing aviation market. Boeing ( BA ) planes are used by three

of the country's four largest airlines.

PRECAUTIONARY CHECKS

Some airlines around the world told Reuters they had been

checking relevant switches since 2018 in accordance with the FAA

advisory, including Australia's Qantas Airways ( QUBSF ).

Others said they had made additional or new checks since the

release of the preliminary report into the Air India crash.

Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday that

precautionary checks on the fuel switches of its 787 fleet,

including planes used by its low-cost subsidiary Scoot,

confirmed all were functioning properly.

The Lufthansa Group said it had re-checked

switches on its 787s since the Air India incident, after

initially inspecting them in 2018, and found no issues.

South Korea's Transport Ministry said it ordered domestic

airlines on Tuesday to inspect fuel control switches in

accordance with the 2018 FAA advisory.

"At that time (2018), it was a recommended measure and was

not fully inspected," the statement to media said.

Flag carrier Korean Air Lines said on Tuesday it

had proactively begun inspecting fuel control switches.

Japan's ANA and Japan Airlines ( JPNRF ) said they

were conducting inspections in accordance with the 2018

advisory.

Taiwan's EVA Air said that it understood that no

further inspections of Boeing 787s were required.

U.S. carrier Alaska Air ( ALK ) said it has not received

guidance from Boeing ( BA ) and is not currently taking action.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) said it completed inspections of

the affected fuel cutoff switches on its fleet in 2018,

immediately after the FAA issued its advisory. "We remain

engaged with the FAA and Boeing ( BA ) and will take additional action

as necessary," a Southwest ( LUV ) spokesperson said.

INSPECTIONS

Boeing ( BA ) referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which did not

respond to a request for comment. Boeing ( BA ) shares closed 1.6%

higher on Monday after there were no recommended actions in the

report aimed at operators of 787 jets or the GE engines.

Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the

locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its 787 and 737 fleets

and has discovered no problems, a source familiar with the

matter told Reuters on Monday.

About half the group's 787s have been inspected and nearly

all its 737s, the source added, speaking on condition of

anonymity. Inspections were set to be completed in a day or two.

The Air India crash preliminary report said the airline had

not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections, as the FAA's

2018 advisory was not a mandate.

But it also said maintenance records showed that the

throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was

replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.

In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson

said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance

faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.