‘Smoke in the cockpit': Mock drill held at Pune airport to test preparedness
The activity was held as per the guidelines of the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, to evaluate the preparedness, response coordination, and operational efficiency of all stakeholders in handling a real-time aviation emergency scenario, they said.
Nearly 330 personnel from various agencies took part in the mock drill at the Pune airport, said an official release.
The simulated situation involved the detection of 'smoke in the cockpit' of a dummy incoming aircraft and the activation of the Airport Emergency Plan, it said.
Following an alert, firefighting units from the Indian Air Force, Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting services, along with fire brigades from civic bodies from Pune and nearby areas, responded to the scenes. 'Survivors' were guided to reception centres for further care and support, it said.
During the post-drill debriefing, observations and recommendations were shared by independent evaluators with the participating teams, the release added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
DGCA sends four show notices to Air India for violation of norms
NEW DELHI: India's aviation regulator on Wednesday issued four show cause notices to Air India for violations related to operational procedures, cabin crew training rules and their rest and duty norms. FILE PHOTO:A statement from Air India said it would respond to the notices within the stipulated two-week period. (REUTERS) The four notices were issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday, following the airline's voluntary reporting of the violations on June 20 and 21. A statement from Air India said it would respond to the notices within the stipulated two-week period. 'We acknowledge receipt of these notices from the regulator related to certain voluntary disclosures that were made over the last one year by Air India. We will respond to the said notices within the stipulated period. We remain committed to the safety of our crew and passengers,' the statement said. The airline has been given two weeks to respond to the notices. In all, the airline had reported 25 violations of norms. The violation of rules relating to the crew's duty and rest period, the notice stated, was in connection with flights operated on June 24, 2024, and June 15, 2025. Another notice was issued following voluntary disclosure on June 21 that reported three violations in cabin crew training and operational procedures. These were related to flights on December 1, April 10 and 11, 2024, and May 16 and 19, 2025. To be sure, the government has also started holding direct meetings with Air India management amid mounting safety incidents and ordered the carrier to maintain the highest safety standards. The first such meeting was held on Wednesday, in the midst of week in which an Air India aircraft caught fire at Delhi airport after landing from Hong Kong, a Kolkata-bound flight aborted takeoff due to technical issues, and a Kochi-Mumbai flight veered off the runway during landing in heavy rain. Air India has been facing enhanced surveillance after its flight from Ahmedabad following the June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171 that killed 260 people. The Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad marked one of aviation's deadliest tragedies in recent years and prompted comprehensive safety reviews. A preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) has identified the fuel control switches, which were set to cut off during takeoff, as the main cause of the crash. Why the switches were flipped, or by whom, is now at the heart of the probe. Since that incident, at least 15 other operational issues and serious incidents have been reported involving Air India and its low-cost service arm Air India Express.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India operated flights violating pilot rest norms and training rules: DGCA
Civil Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation have issued at least four show cause notices to Air India over multiple violation of pilot rest rules, not fulfilling training requirements and deploying inadequate number of cabin crew on ultra-long haul flights, according to documents reviewed by ET. While Air India voluntarily reported the violations to the DGCA , they were done two days before the regulator was supposed to inspect the airline's records as part of its annual surveillance of the airline's main base at Delhi. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Degree CXO Data Science Technology Others Leadership Data Science Product Management MBA healthcare Data Analytics Digital Marketing Healthcare Finance others PGDM Public Policy Project Management MCA Cybersecurity Operations Management Design Thinking Management Skills you'll gain: Data-Driven Decision-Making Strategic Leadership and Transformation Global Business Acumen Comprehensive Business Expertise Duration: 2 Years University of Western Australia UWA Global MBA Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details In one of the cases, three Air India pilots operated beyond the mandated weekly duty hours. The regulator asked Air India's head of operations Pankul Mathur to explain the lapse. The regulator had earlier asked the airline to remove head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials after it found that the airline had operated two flights on the Bengaluru-London route where the pilots exceeded the stipulated duty limit of 10 hours. In another case, two Air India pilots underwent simulator training but did not start flying within the prescribed time limit, a lapse that requires them to undergo training again. While in another case 17 pilots flew flights in and out of Kathmandu without a mandatory training. To operate out of airports like Kathmandu which are situated in hilly areas pilots require extra training as there can be lack of navigation aids, inadequate en route weather information and sudden weather changes like turbulence due to strong winds blowing through the valleys. 'Despite repeated warnings and enforcement actions in the past, these violations demonstrated a continuing failure to implement effective training governance and compliance monitoring mechanisms. This constitutes a serious safety and regulatory concern,' an official of DGCA wrote in the show cause notice. In another instance the airline operated flights to North America without adequate cabin crew. These flights were operated soon after the Pahelgam terror attack following which Pakistan had shut its airspace for Indian carriers increasing flight time for flights between India and North America. DGCA had temporarily extend the maximum duty hours and rest period for pilots on long-haul routes to allow the airline to tackle Pakistan's airspace ban. "We acknowledge receipt of these notices from the regulator related to certain voluntary disclosures that were made over the last one year by Air India. We will respond to the said notices within the stipulated period. We remain committed to the safety of our crew and passengers," an Air India spokesperson said. The regulator has increased surveillance on Air India following last month's crash of a Boeing 787 aircraft at Ahmedabad killing 270 people. A preliminary assessment by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said that they are focusing on movement of fuel switches seconds after take-off leading to shut down of engines.
The Wire
10 hours ago
- The Wire
End of an Era: MiG-21's 62-Year Service Owes Less to Soviet Engineering, More to 'Desi Jugaad'
MiG-21's farewell won't just signal the retirement of a Cold War relic, but the departure of a fighter that, over decades, became thoroughly Indian in spirit. New Delhi: Few combat aircraft globally can match a service life as prolonged – and improbable – as the MiG-21's 62 years in the Indian Air Force (IAF), whose final two squadrons of around 30-odd platforms are being retired at a formal ceremony in Chandigarh on September 19. This extraordinary longevity was underpinned almost entirely by jugaad, the Indian military's inimitable culture of improvisation, ingenuity, and engineering fixes that kept these single-engine fighters flying far beyond expectations and well outside their original flight envelope and mission parameters. Through a mix of technical improvisation and squadron-level ingenuity that included integration of improved radars, indigenously developed and off-the-shelf avionics and modern missile systems, the IAF's numerous MiG-21 (NATO designation: 'Fishbed') variants evolved operationally far beyond their original Soviet design. Few supersonic jets of any era have operated such a broad mission spectrum And, over time, entire IAF base-level ecosystems grew around supporting these fighters, doing more with less to transform the MiG-21s into multi-role workhorses capable of flying reconnaissance, ground-attack, interception, precision-strike missions and air policing roles, all acknowledged admiringly by fighter pilots from around the world. Few supersonic jets of any era, let alone those from the 1960s, have operated such a broad mission spectrum, with MiG-21 fighters serving effectively in the 1965, 1971, and 1999 wars with Pakistan, in the Balakot strikes of 2019, and more recently in Operation Sindoor. Beginning with the first Mikoyan-Gurevich-designed MiG-21F-13/Type 74 in 1963, some 870 variants of the fighter entered IAF service thereafter, the majority licence-produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. MiG-21 inductions continued until the mid-1980s, with this fighter type eventually comprising nearly 60% of the IAF's combat fleet till the 1990s. The MiG-21s performance envelope was notable for its era: a top speed of Mach 2.1, operational ceiling of over 50,000 feet, and a rapid climb rate. But its range and payload were modest, and its early variants had rudimentary avionics, limited visibility, and posed challenging handling at low speeds. Veterans said the fighter was primarily a 'pilot's aircraft' – unforgiving of error and with minimal tolerance for laxity. Over the decades, some 450 MiG-21s had crashed, killing between 170 and 200 pilots – as well as several civilians on the ground – according to official statistics, earning the fighter ignominious labels in the Indian media such as 'flying coffins' and 'widow makers'. Multiple investigations had revealed that, apart from pilot error, many of these crashes had stemmed largely from ageing airframes, engine failures, and the relentless demands placed on a platform long past its technological prime. But eventually it was compulsion, not choice, that kept the IAF flying MiG-21s despite mounting mishaps – mainly to sustain squadron numbers. Although proposals to phase them out began surfacing as early as 2019, persistent delays in developing indigenous fighters and slow procurement of replacements left the IAF with little option but to continue with MiG-21s to fill critical operational gaps by extended their total technical life (TTL) and take on roles far beyond their original design intent. Chronic delay in indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme One key reason behind the MiG-21's extended service was the chronic delay in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, launched in 1983 specifically to replace it. As a stopgap, the IAF upgraded 125 MiG-21 'Bis' fighters to 'Bison' standard in the late 1990s, incorporating a mix of Indian, Russian, French, and Israeli radar, avionics and assorted other related systems onto the fighter. These upgraded MiG-21 Bisons are the ones finally being retired in September, and their exit will reduce the IAF's fighter fleet to just 29 squadrons, well below the sanctioned strength of 42.5, underscoring the mounting strain on its operational efficiency. And though the fighters' original Tumansky R-25 engines were not replaced, they were modified with enhanced accessory drives and ancillary systems to support the heavier, electronics-laden platform. Its avionics too saw a significant boost with the integration of the lightweight Russian 'Super Kopyo' multi-mode radar and the Totem 221G ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system from France's Sextant Avionique. These were linked to a locally developed navigation and attack computer, with weapon delivery cues displayed to the pilot via a modern Head-Up Display (HUD). The upgrade also included EWS-21 radar warning receivers from Thales, Israeli countermeasure dispensers, onboard video recording systems, and indigenous electronic countermeasures (ECM). The MiG-21 Bison was also capable of deploying a much wider range of ordnance, including Russian R-73 and R-77 air-to-air missiles with ranges of 40 to 100 km, Kh-31 medium-range air-to-surface missiles, and the GSh-23 twin-barrel 23mm cannon. Meanwhile, Wing Cdr Amit Giri, a veteran MIG-21 pilot, declared that though designed as a short-range interceptor, the IAF had 'upped the game by using the MiG-21 in almost every role imaginable'. Writing in the Financial Express in late 2021, he stated that these missions had included bombing, interception, reconnaissance, providing escort to bombers over enemy territory and also training rookie pilots. He said MiG-21s had even comprised part of large force engagements (LFEs), executed to deceive the enemy and conceal the real intent regarding intended targets, thereby forcing the opposing side to deploy a large defending package to its operational disadvantage. IAF's skills in operationalising technical and operational 'jugaad' 'Let alone Western air forces, even the Russians could never have imagined the role of a MiG-21 in LFE,' Wing Cdr Giri said in a silent tribute to the IAF's skills in operationalising technical and operational 'jugaad' and optimising its war-fighting skills. However, he conceded that the IAF's continued reliance on the MiG-21 was driven more by necessity than by tactical preference. With a 'humongous amount of sky to protect,' a trickle of fighter acquisitions from abroad, and delays in indigenous development, the IAF had little choice but to shape its strategy and tactics around platforms like the MiG-21. In short, the Soviet fighter remained an analogue survivor in a digital age, but one that had stayed too long. And, as the MiG-21 takes its final bow in Chandigarh in a few weeks, its farewell won't just signal the retirement of a Cold War relic, but the departure of a fighter that, over decades, became thoroughly Indian in spirit. Its 62-year service owes less to Soviet engineering and more to the power of desi jugaad – the Indian military's unsung force multiplier. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
