India may ground Air India's Boeing 787 fleet: NDTV
NEW DELHI: The Indian government is considering grounding Air India's Boeing 787 fleet, Indian broadcaster NDTV reported on Friday, a day after one of the airline's aircraft of the same make crashed in Ahmedabad city, killing more than 240 people.
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The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
India orders inspection of Boeing 787s after Air India crash
AHMEDABAD: India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected after an Air India crash killed 270 people this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding the authorities were investigating all possible causes. The aviation regulator had on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks. 'We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet,' aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters in New Delhi. 'Eight have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.' He did not say whether government officials will be involved in the inspections. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24. IndiGo did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Air India said it is currently completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian regulator, adding that 'some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.' The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday told Reuters the Indian government was considering that as an option. Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported. At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College, told reporters. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college's hostel as it came down. The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata's chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but 'we don't know right now.' Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months. 'We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety,' he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists. BODIES RELEASED FROM MORGUE Later in the afternoon, authorities removed the tail of the aircraft that was stuck on top of a building, while hospital and rescue officials said a body of a cabin crew member was recovered from the wreckage. Air India said it will provide an interim payment of 2.5 million rupees ($29,000) each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs, in addition to 10 million rupees in support announced previously by the Tata Group. 'The process of reuniting next of kin with their loved ones and personal effects has begun,' Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in a statement, as authorities started handing over bodies of passengers and crew members to their families, nearly 48 hours after the crash. Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling. At least 11 DNA samples have been matched so far, and authorities expect to hand over three bodies by Saturday evening, said Rajnish Patel, a senior official at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He told reporters that the matching of samples was a meticulous process that had to be done slowly. The wait, however, had made some family members more distraught. Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities. 'We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,' Memon said. Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it will take 72 hours for DNA profiling. 'The authorities are trying to help but our patience is running out,' he said. Most bodies in the crash were badly charred and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks. Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims' prior dental charts, radiographs or other records. Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the B.J. Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks. 'Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues,' said one doctor who did not wish to be named. 'The loss of so many colleagues and friends in this incident is difficult.' ($1 = 86.0810 Indian rupees)
Malay Mail
5 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Paris Air Show opens under cloud of war, Dreamliner crash and trade tensions
PARIS, June 14 — War, tariffs and the Air India crash will cast a shadow over the Paris Air Show as the aerospace industry's biggest annual gathering opens tomorrow. More than 2,400 companies from 48 countries are showing off their hardware at the week-long event at Le Bourget airfield on the outskirts of Paris. The sales rivalry between Airbus and Boeing usually drives the headlines as the world's top civilian planemakers announce many of their biggest orders at the air show. But this year's event 'is much more complex', said Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury, who also chairs the board of the Gifas association of French aerospace firms that organises the biennial event. The list of challenges is growing. Russia's war in Ukraine is stretching into its fourth year and there are fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched strikes on Iran on Friday, disrupting commercial flights across the region. The world economy is expected to slow sharply after US President Donald Trump launched his tariff blitz in April. And Boeing is facing a new crisis after Thursday's crash of a 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India in the city of Ahmedabad, which killed at least 265 people on board and on the ground. Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg cancelled plans to attend the Paris Air Show to focus on the investigation into the crash. Prior to the tragedy, Boeing had been making progress under a new leadership as the US company sought to restore trust after a series of safety and quality lapses. Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, have also been dealing with delays in delivering aircraft due to supply chain issues. Trade war US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught has added to the issues facing the industry, which relies on a global supply chain. Trump imposed 10 per cent tariffs on US imports of goods from nearly every country in April, and steeper levies on dozens of countries could kick in next month. The Trump administration is also mulling whether to impose sector-specific tariffs of between 10 and 20 per cent on civil aircraft and parts. The heads of Airbus and Boeing have both called for tariffs to return to zero as had been the case since a 1979 agreement. 'The entire Western aerospace industry considers that would be the best that could happen,' said Faury. In a recent interview with trade journal Aviation Week, Ortberg warned that that tariffs are an added cost for Boeing, which has been financially weakened in recent years by production problems. We're 'not in a position to pass those (costs) along to our customers,' he told Aviation Week. 'I'm hopeful that, as each of these country-by-country negotiations resolve, those tariffs will go away in the long run.' The tariff problems come as the industry has yet to fully recover from effects of the Covid pandemic on its supply chain. Airbus is having trouble getting enough fuel-efficient engines for its top-selling A320 family of single-aisle jets, holding back the delivery of around 40 aircraft. The main bottleneck is a lack of toilets for widebody aircraft, said Christian Scherer, the head of Airbus's commercial aircraft division. Fighter jets The Paris Air Show is also about showing off the latest military hardware, at a time of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. European countries are boosting defence budgets in the face of the Ukraine war and fears about Trump's commitment to the Nato alliance. 'The geostrategic environment has led us to bolster this aspect which was in the background in previous years,' said Gifas head Frederic Parisot. Some 75 companies related to weapons production will be participating at the show, with military jets, helicopters and drones to be displayed. Lockheed Martin's F-35 fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter will be featured, along with the Rafale produced by France's Dassault Aviation. Nine Israeli companies — fewer than in the past — are expected to have displays after a French court rejected a bid by NGOs to ban them over their alleged role in the Gaza conflict. — AFP
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
TEKUN disburses RM23m in financing to indian entrepreneurs as of May 1
IPOH: The National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (TEKUN Nasional) has disbursed RM23 million in financing to 879 Indian entrepreneurs across the country as of May 1 this year. Senior private secretary to Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, Datuk B. Anbumani, said the government provided the allocation under the SPUMI (Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme) Goes Big financing scheme, benefiting 137 recipients, adding that another 742 Indian entrepreneurs received funding through the TEKUN SPUMI scheme. 'In addition to TEKUN financing, many other initiatives under the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (KUSKOP) have been rolled out this year, aimed at boosting the economic development of the Indian community. 'Therefore, the Indian community must make the most of the platforms provided by the government, as their economic well-being is crucial. KUSKOP remains committed to supporting Indian entrepreneurs by offering various financing opportunities to help them grow their businesses,' he said. He said this today on behalf of the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, after the Vanakam MADANI engagement session with Perak Indian entrepreneurs here. Anbumani said that these entrepreneurs are selling sarees, providing transportation services, running restaurants or retail outlets, and are involved in online ventures, among other things.
