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India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets
India’s aviation regulator has ordered the country’s airlines to inspect fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes, after their reported involvement in a fatal Air India crash that killed 260 people in June.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the order follows Indian and international airlines already starting to carry out their own checks.
It comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] said on Monday that the fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes are safe.
The safety of the switches has become a key point of concern after a preliminary report on the disaster found fuel to the engines of the plane involved cut off moments after take-off.
The disaster involving London-bound Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was one of the worst aviation incidents globally in almost a decade.
Since the publication of the preliminary report on Saturday a number of different stakeholders, both in India and internationally have taken action and issued statements in response to it.
In its order, India’s aviation regulator has asked for checks to be carried out by 21 July, noting that “strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations”.
The checks being requested are in line with a 2018 advisory by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US’s aviation authority, which was referenced in the preliminary report.
The 2018 advisory urged – but did not mandate – operators of Boeing models to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cut-off switches to ensure they could not be moved by accident.
Air India had not carried out those inspections because they were not mandatory, the AAIB said in its preliminary investigation.
The DGCA has now ordered airlines to carry out the checks and report back.
In its response to the report, the FAA said the 2018 advisory was “was based on reports that the fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged” – but added that it does not believe this makes the planes unsafe.
Separately on Monday, a group representing Indian airline pilots defended the flight’s crew.
The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association said staff on board had “acted in line with their training and responsibilities under challenging conditions and the pilots shouldn’t be vilified based on conjecture”.
The preliminary report, published by the India Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) on Saturday, said the switches on Flight 171 controlling fuel flow to the jet’s engines had been moved from “run” to the “cut-off” position, hampering the thrust of the plane.
In recovered cockpit voice recordings, the report said one of the pilots can be heard asking “why did you cut off?” – to which the other pilot replied he “did not do so”.
The preliminary report states its role is “not to apportion blame or liability”.
Also on Monday, the Reuters news agency reported that South Korea was waiting to order all airlines in the country which operate Boeing jets to examine fuel switches.
[BBC]
Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and opted to bowl against Sri Lanka in the Group B match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Stirling said the pitch looked “hard and firm” but was a bit drier than the last time they were here. “We have got good all-round options in the middle, so we have picked an extra batter tonight. Hope that will come in handy at the backend of the game.” As suspected, there was no room for Josh Little.
Sri Lanka went in with five batters and five bowlers. Their captain Dasun Shanaka felt “anything over 170 would be very good on this pitch”.
The square boundaries are 71 metres and 77 metres. The straight one is 84 metres.
Sri Lanka and Ireland have faced each other only three times in T20Is, with Sri Lanka winning on all three occasions.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana
Ireland: Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys
(Cricinfo)
Rohit Paudel warned Harry Brook that a used pitch at Wankhede Stadium could play into his team’s hands as Nepal were asked to bowl first in their first-ever international match against England.
Sunday afternoon’s game will be played on the same strip where India’s powerhouse batting line-up eked out 161 for 9 against United States on Saturday night. Brook won the toss and chose to bat first with conditions in mind, but Paudel said that Nepal’s players “love slow tracks” and that they hoped the surface would suit them.
“We love slow tracks, and it’s a used wicket so I think it will spin a little bit,” Paudel said. “I think, if that happens, it will help our team… To be honest, we would have bowled first. Looking at the conditions, I think chasing is a good option.”
Young spinner Sher Malla made his T20I debut for Nepal, while Lokesh Bam was preferred to the veteran Sompal Kami in the middle order.
Nepal play all four of their group games at the Wankhede and will be cheered on by thousands of their fans in Mumbai. “Playing all the games here will always be an advantage to the team playing all four games here,” Paudel said. “As a team, playing in Asian conditions always helps Nepal.”
Brook predicted that the pitch would get worse as the game wore on. “We feel like the pitch is going to be in the best shape for the first innings, and then hopefully we can bowl well and defend our score in the second innings… It looked like there was a little bit of spin in it, and a little bit of bounce, so hopefully we can utilise that in the second innings.”
England named their team on the eve of the match, with Luke Wood preferred to Jamie Overton. “We wanted to go with two out-and-out seamers up top with the new ball to see if we can get it to swing and get a few early wickets in the powerplay,” Brook said. “Pretty much everything else was already settled.”
England’s build-up to the tournament has been overshadowed by Brook’s now-infamous night out in Wellington last October, but he has tried to draw a line under the incident. “I’m feeling good,” he said. “I’m feeling good with the bat, and hopefully I can make some good decisions as captain as well – on and off the field.”
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.
Nepal: Aasif Sheikh (wk), Kushal Bhurtel, Rohit Paudel (capt), Dipendra Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC, Sher Malla, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane.
[Cricinfo]
New Zealand may have felt a sense of deja vu after Gulbadin Naib’s half-century andMujeeb Ur Rahman’s double-strike in their opening game of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Chennai. But Tim Seifert’s own half-century and a punchy knock from Glenn Phillips offset the early damage caused by Afghanistan and set New Zealand on the path to victory in the group of death, which also includes fellow title-contenders South Africa.
After Afghanistan opted to bat in a day game, they posted 182 for 6, on the back of Naib’s 35-ball 63, which looked like an above-par total on a challenging Chepauk surface, which offered substantial bounce, especially in the early exchanges, and some grip to the slower bowlers.
That total looked a whole lot bigger once Mujeeb blasted out Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra in the second over of the chase off back-to-back balls.
Phillips, however, kept out the hat-trick ball and combined aggressively with Seifert to loosen Afghanistan’s grip on the game. They snatched it from Afghanistan’s hands when they cracked Rashid Khan for 14 in his first over. Rashid – and Afghanistan – never really recovered from that as New Zealand wrapped up the chase with five wickets and nearly two overs to spare.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 183 for 5 in 17.5 overs (Tim Seifert 65, Glenn Phillips 42, Mark Chapman 28, Daryl Mitchell 25*, Mitchell Santner 17; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-31, Azmatullah Omarzai 1-40, Rashid Khan 1-36, Mohammad Nabi 1-18) beat Afghanistan182 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 27, Ibrahim Zadran 10, Gulbadin Naib 63, Sediqullah Atal 29, Daevish Rasooli 20, Azmatullah Omarzai 14, Mohammad Nabi 10*; Matt Henry 1-27, Jacob Duffy 1-30, Lockie Ferguson 2-40, Rachin Ravindra 1-14) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
Ireland opt for an extra batter as they ask Sri Lanka to bat
England bat; Nepal hand debut to Sher Malla
Seifert and Phillips conquer Afghanistan spin to script convincing New Zealand win
Thailand votes as reformists, conservatives vie for power
Afghanistan to bat first against New Zealand
‘I’d like to play on flat tracks’ – Shanaka links Sri Lanka’s batting woes to spin-friendly pitches at home
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