DGCA orders extended surveillance of Boeing 787 flights; Centre constitutes high-level committee to probe plane crash
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 series aircraft models, one of which crashed minutes after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing 270 people including all 242 onboard, except a miraculous survivor.
Addressing a press briefing on Saturday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said the government has planned to extend surveillance of the Boeing aircraft models, which have come under fire after the deadly crash.
"We have very strict safety standards in the country...When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 Series," Naidu said.
"DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done," the minister said.
Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick, nosedived minutes after takeoff and crashed into the students hostel of B. J. Medical College in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood, killing at least 29 in the hospital complex, in addition to the 241 people on board.
The Aviation Ministry informed that the last message from the pilot was a "May Day" call, after which the Air Traffic Control (ATC) lost contact with the aircraft.
"The plane took off at 1:39 pm and within a few seconds, after reaching a height of about 650 feet, it started sinking, i.e., it started losing height. At 1:39 pm, the pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a May Day, i.e., full emergency. According to ATC, when it tried to contact the plane, it did not receive any response. Exactly after 1 minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport," Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said.
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