The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and urged it to ground all Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Air India for a detailed inspection of their electrical systems. The pilot body has also requested a special audit of the airline’s maintenance practices following two technical malfunctions in less than a week.
On Thursday, an Air India Vienna-Delhi flight was forced to divert to Dubai due to a technical snag. Last week, an Amritsar-Birmingham flight experienced an uncommanded deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating this.
‘Ground all Boeing 787s of Air India’
In its letter to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, the association underscored that the two back-to-back incidents reflect “poor serviceability” on Air India’s part.
“We once again appeal to the Minister to now ground all the B-787’s (Boeing 787 aircraft) of Air India and these aircrafts be thoroughly checked especially the Electrical Systems,” the letter stated, before adding, “DGCA to carry out a Special Audit of all B-787’s and these aircraft be checked thoroughly as the failures are increasing day by day thus, seriously affecting Air Safety. Two incidents of electrical malfunctions in a short span of time are indicators of poor serviceability by Air India.”
The pilots’ body added that pilots operating the Vienna-Delhi flight were unable to engage the autopilot due to electrical malfunctions and were forced to fly manually at night before diverting the flight to Dubai.
“The aircraft experienced failures across critical systems, which included Autopilots, ILS (Instrument Landing System), Flight Directors (FDs) and Flight Control System Degradation with no Autoland capability. The pilots could not engage the autopilots due to electrical malfunctions; thus, the pilots were constrained to fly manually at night and divert to Dubai. Moreover, the FDs were not available with degraded flight control systems,” the letter by FIP further stated.
The FIP reiterated its demand for a detailed probe into both incidents and urged the ministry to order a special DGCA audit covering the Boeing 787 fleet, minimum equipment list (MEL) clearances, and recurring snags.
“We once again humbly request the Hon’ble Minister for the following actions in the interest of Air Safety: a) To thoroughly investigate both the recent incidents of AI-117 and AI-154. b) To ground all Air India B-787 and have they thoroughly checked for their electrical systems and other repetitive snags. c) To order a Special Audit of Air India, which should be conducted by the Senior Staff of FSD (Flight Standards Directorate), Air Safety and Airworthiness of DGCA. There is a need to check the MEL (minimum equipment list) releases and repetitive snags on the aircraft, especially B-787s,” the FIP wrote.
The association, representing over 5,500 pilots, said the incidents point to declining maintenance standards at Air India. It noted that technical reliability was higher when Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), a government entity, was responsible for the maintenance of aircraft.
Vienna to Delhi flight diverted to Dubai
On Thursday, Air India confirmed that the Vienna to Delhi flight was diverted to Dubai after a technical issue was detected. The airline said that the aircraft landed safely in Dubai and, after undergoing checks, the same flight continued to Delhi.
“AI154 operating from Vienna to Delhi on 09 October was diverted to Dubai due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely at Dubai and underwent necessary checks,” an Air India spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added, “All passengers were kept informed of the delay, provided refreshments and the flight, operated by the same aircraft, departed Dubai at 08:45 hrs IST and landed in Delhi at 12:19 hrs IST.”
“At Air India, the safety of passengers and crew remains top priority. Air India categorically denies any assertion that there was an electrical failure in the said aircraft,” it further noted.
Uncommanded RAT deployment Air India flight
In a separate incident last week, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) on Air India’s Amritsar-Birmingham flight (AI117) deployed on its own before landing. The aircraft landed safely in Birmingham and was grounded for inspection.
The airline cancelled the return flight from Birmingham to Delhi.
“All electrical and hydraulic parameters in flight AI117 were found normal, the aircraft performed a safe landing at Birmingham,” the airline said in a statement.
It added that the plane has been grounded for further checks and consequently, “AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi has been cancelled.”