The ongoing government shutdown in America is now having a direct impact on the country’s air services. As of Friday morning, more than 800 flights have been cancelled, which is four times more than on Thursday. Amid this crisis, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered a 4% reduction in flight operations at 40 major airports in the country, including major hubs like New York, Los Angeles and San Diego.

This order of FAA has come into effect from Friday and if the shutdown prolongs, then this reduction may increase up to 10% by next week. According to CNN report, airlines have already canceled hundreds of flights to avoid possible chaos.

FAA and US government response

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday, “This step will temporarily reduce the number of flights, but we will work with the airlines to implement it in a controlled manner.” The FAA has warned that if the shutdown continues, up to 4,000 flights per day could be affected, as many air traffic control towers are facing staff shortages.

Where and when will flight cuts be implemented

Bloomberg’s report suggests that flights will be mainly affected between 6 am and 10 pm. In the initial phase, 4% flights will be reduced, which can be increased to 10% next week. However, international flights are currently exempted from this rule.

Which airlines are most affected?

According to analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu, America’s four big airlines – American Airlines, Delta, United and Southwest will be most affected in November and December. According to the FlightAware website, as of 4:30 am on Friday, 800 flights had been cancelled, whereas on Thursday this number was only 201. Airlines have said that full refund will be given to passengers whose flights have been cancelled.

What could happen next?

FAA officials say that if the government shutdown does not end soon, there will be increased pressure on air traffic management. Due to lack of staff, both security and timing can be affected. Experts believe that if the situation continues like this, travelers may face serious problems during the Thanksgiving travel season.

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Families of four passengers killed in Air India flight 171 accident have filed a case against American aircraft manufacturer Boeing and technical company Honeywell. Family members allege that the aircraft crashed due to the negligence of companies in this accident and fuel cutoff switch. The aircraft crashed shortly after flying from Ahmedabad to London on June 12, in which a total of 260 people died.

Complaint in delaware superior court
In a complaint filed in the Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday, the families of the victims said that the locking mechanism of the fuel cutoff switch on Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner can be inadvertently closed or disabled. Due to this, fuel supply can stop and the thrust required for takeoff may be reduced.

The complaint alleged that Boeing and Honeywell, who built and established this switch, knew about the flaw despite the warning of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2018. FAA warned that locking mechanisms in many Boeing aircraft are in danger of being closed due to mistake.

Accused of negligence of companies
Family members alleged that the switch was directly placed behind the thrust lever, causing the fuel cutoff during normal cockpit operations. The complaint said, “Honeywell and Boeing did not take any concrete steps to stop this disaster.” Boeing refused to make any comment on Wednesday, while Honeywell also did not respond immediately.

260 people died in accident
In this accident, 229 passengers, 12 crew members and 19 people present on the ground were killed. Only one passenger could escape safely. Four killed passengers – Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Navya Chirag Paghadal, Kubebhai Patel and Babiben Patel have sought damages in the trial.

Investigation agencies have not reached the conclusion yet
Indian, British and American investigators have not been able to ascertain the real cause of the accident so far. In the preliminary report of the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the confusion in the cockpit was described as the major problem before the accident. FAA said in July that the possibility of mistake in mechanical malfunction or fuel control is very low.

Disputed history of Boeing
Boeing has already faced legal and financial crises. After two deadly accidents of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, the company did not get permission to fly its aircraft for 20 months and had to be legal and other expenses of more than $ 20 billion.

Air India Plane Crash Report: Air India flight AI171 left for London from Ahmedabad on the morning of 12 June 2024. The flight was being operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Shortly after the take-off, the aircraft collided with a medical college hostel, killing 260 passengers on the spot. This accident is not only one of the largest aircraft tragedies in India, but it is also considered to be the first fatal accident of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner all over the world.

Now the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released a preliminary report of its 15 pages on this incident, which has revealed many important information related to the accident, but some secrets are still intact.

Both engines closed immediately after take-off!
According to the AAIB report, the fuel control switches of the two engines suddenly went from “Run” to “Cutoff”, 7 seconds after the aircraft take-off, which stopped fueling both engines. This entire process took place within a second. Due to this, the thrust of the engine went completely and the aircraft could not catch the height. It has been reported in the report that the pilots immediately tried to turn the engine again, understanding the situation.

Both switches were brought back to “run” and one of them also turned on, but by then it was too late. The aircraft crashed only 32 seconds after the take-off. In the cockpit voice recorder, a pilot was recorded asking the other, “Why did you cut fuel?”, I got the answer, “I did not.” But it was not clear which voice was from which pilot.

The aircraft was in a state of flying and pilots were also experienced
The report states that the aircraft was completely aircraft (flight). All necessary technical inspections were done before the take-off. Captain Sumit Sabharwal had a 15,000 -hour flight experience, with 8,600 hours at Boeing 787. He was accompanied by the first officer Clive Kunder in the flight, who also had 3,400 hours of experience. Both passed the pre-flight breath analyzer test and their presence in CCTV was also clearly visible.

The report also stated that FAA had issued a warning in the year 2018, in which the fuel control switch in Boeing aircraft had said that the locking mechanism was a possible failure. But this was not mandatory, only advice, so no action was taken on it.

Was it an electronic disturbance?
A big question is how the two fuel switches suddenly stopped together? Was it a pilot’s fault or any technical disturbance? Some aviation experts have feared that this may be due to malfunction in the MN4 microprocessor of the engine’s electronic control unit (ECU). A joint service bulletin released in 2021 by FAA and GE also identified the solder-ball fatigue of this microprocessor as a possible threat.

Due to this fatigue, the switches can be tripped on the cutoff automatically, which can suddenly stop, as in this accident.

Which questions are answered?
According to the report, the landing gear was not up during the take-off. It is possible that the pilot was busy dealing with the engine failure at that time and forgot to give a “gear up” call. In addition, there is no video recording of the cockpit, making it difficult to know who really changed the switch. Many experts have expressed concern over this and have demanded video recording in the future cockpit.

The report also stated that the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) did not send any distress signal, while it had an impact of 3.2 to 3.5g at the time of the accident – which is usually sufficient to trigger the signal.

Investigation team and final report
Some pilot organizations questioned the expertise of the Aaib’s investigation team. In response, Aaib clarified that the team includes pilots, engineers, aviation medicine experts and flight recording experts, who are investigating the matter deeply.

Aaib has said that the final detailed report will be released by 12 June 2026. Till then, no clear conclusions have been drawn and no new security advice has been issued for 787-8 or GE GENX-1B engine operators.

Air India Plane Crash: The preliminary investigation report of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad in Ahmedabad has come out. This report has revealed that in 2018, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a special aircraft information bulletin (Saib No. NM-18-33) and warned about the possible problem of the removal of the locking feature of fuel control switch in Boeing aircraft. This bulletin was also involved in the planes like B787-8. Was.

What is the problem of locking feature of fuel control switch?
The fuel control switch locking feature is a safety system that prevents unintentional operation between fuel supply and cut-offs of the aircraft engine. The FAA report said that if this locking feature becomes inactive, then the switch can be replaced between the two positions (On and Off) without picking up the switch, which can lead to a serious event like unknowing engine shutdown.

FAA reported ignored
The report also stated that this warning of FAA was not mandatory, but was only advisory, so inspections related to it were not done. This is an important point, because if it had been investigated in time, the accident could have been avoided. Retired pilot Captain Ehsan Khalid of IAF said that the fuel cut-off switch is run physically by the pilot, it is not automatic. He said, ‘If the movement of the fuel cut-off switch has been recorded, then it is a sign of an attempt by the pilot to resume the engine. But the truth is that the power of the engine itself was closed, the pilot did not give any input, it is clear from the report.

What is in the preliminary report of AAIB?
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released a 15 -page preliminary report a month after the accident, which describes the preliminary investigation and the situation so far. The AI171 aircraft, which was going from Ahmedabad to Gatwick from London, collided with a medical hostel complex shortly after the takeoff. Only one of the 241 passengers could survive in this accident.

The report said that debris investigation, postmortem report and investigation of parts are still going on. So far no recommendation has been issued for B787-8 aircraft or GE GENX-1B engine operators.

Air India and Boeing are cooperating
Air India has said that it is fully supporting the investigation, and Boeing said that it will allow AAIB to share information under the Unnex 13 protocol of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).