Regulator Orders Extensive Checks on AI's 787 Fleet

Time of India

14 hours ago

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced inspections of Air India's Boeing 787s, following Thursday's crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 people on board. The scrutiny will be extensive and include a one-time check of take-off parameters, reviewing technical snags on these aircraft in the past 15 days and resolving any recurring problems. Air India has a fleet of 33 Dreamliners, the oldest of which was acquired in 2012. The plane that went down entered service in 2014.
A person aware of the development said that the extra maintenance checks were ordered because preliminary investigations have pointed to the possibility of faults with the plane or a human error, and not a universal issue with Boeing 787s or the GEnx engines that powered the plane.
Separately, Boeing told operators in a service bulletin they don't need to take any additional measures for safe operations of the aircraft.
But the person cited above cautioned that no conclusion can be drawn until a thorough investigation has been completed. Planes have many redundancies to prevent a single problem from leading to a calamity. As a result, crashes are typically caused by multiple failures and early hypotheses are often ruled out during lengthy, technical crash investigations.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 with 242 people on board bound for London Gatwick began losing height seconds after take-off and crashed over a residential area in Ahmedabad killing all but one person.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said in Washington DC that it 'would be way too premature' to consider grounding the Boeing 787 fleet.
'Any faults that could have contributed to the accident of the aircraft causation should be eliminated,' said Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, which works on aviation safety.
Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that the flight data recorder, popularly called black box, was recovered on Friday afternoon.
'This marks an important step forward in the investigation,' he said. 'This will significantly aid the inquiry into the incident.'
The search for the cockpit voice recorder is continuing. The two units, painted orange, are designed to survive extreme conditions and are critical in establishing the cause of accidents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday, chaired a high-level review meeting, and met the injured. Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson also visited the crash site.
'The technical team is helping at the site and our caregivers are providing support to the families. We know the investigations will take time but we will be fully transparent and support the process for as long as it takes,' Wilson said in a video message posted on X.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team examined the crash site on Friday, officials said. They said that it was a procedural visit and ruled out any chances of sabotage. The team was accompanied by officials of other central agencies. The NIA typically investigates terror-related offences.