"Aircraft and its engines showed no issues before flight," says Air India CEO on AI-171 crash
New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson on Thursday said that the flight AI-171, which crashed shortly after taking off in Ahmedabad on June 12, was 'well-maintained' and both the aircraft and its engines were regularly monitored, showing no issue before the flight.
In a wordy statement for its customers, Air India's CEO informed that the plane had undergone its last major check in June 2023, while its right engine was overhauled in March of this year, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025.
'The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,' Campbell Wilson said.
Air India CEO assured that they are working with the aviation industry and waiting for the official investigation report to provide more information about the crash in which 241 out of the 242 passengers on board were killed after the plane crashed into the BJ Medical college's boys hostel building.
Campbell Wilson further added that Air India has completed inspection on 26 Boeing 787 aircraft out of 33 of its aircraft as per the directions of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after the tragedy. He added that following the review of Air India aircraft, the DGCA has confirmed that our Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards.
'Arising from this tragedy, and as directed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on June 14, 2025, we have been conducting thorough safety inspections on our 33 Boeing 787 aircraft. So far, inspections have been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service. The remaining aircraft are currently in planned maintenance and will have these additional checks done before being released into service. Following the review, the DGCA has confirmed that our Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards,' he said in the statement.
Air India CEO also raised the recent incidents of delays and technical issues and apologised for the inconvenience.
He further added that Air India has elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks on Boeing 787 fleet as a 'confidence-building mesure' while also noting that these checks may have impact on schedules.
'As a confidence-building measure, we have elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks on our Boeing 787 fleet and, as an added measure, our Boeing 777 aircraft, for the time being. Given the time these additional checks will consume and the potential impact on schedules, we have decided to reduce our international widebody flights by around 15% starting June 20, 2025 through to at least mid-July. This will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues,' he said.
On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a hostel complex of BJ Medical College in the Meghani Nagar area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The tragedy claimed 241 lives out of 242 onboard, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
222 people have been identified so far in the Air India 171 crash incident, and their bodies have been handed over to their respective families, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
35 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Two Air India international flights from Bengaluru cancelled
Two international flights of Air India from Bengaluru were cancelled on Thursday (June 19, 2025). The Air India flight AI 175 from Bengaluru to San Francisco, which was scheduled to depart at 1.20 p.m., was cancelled, and another flight AI 133 bound to London's Heathrow, which was scheduled to depart at 2.15 p.m., was also cancelled, the sources at the Kempegowda International Airport said. Air India on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) announced that it will be cutting down international flight services on widebody aircraft (Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft), that mostly connect long haul and ultra-long-haul destinations by 15%. While the Bengaluru-London flight is a Boeing 787, the Bengaluru-San Francisco flight is a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The direct distance between Bengaluru and San Francisco is approximately 13,993 km, and this is said to be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by Air India or any other airline in India. Air India said that the Bengaluru-London (Heathrow) flight services will be reduced from seven flights a week to six flights a week. The reduction in the flights on this route will be effective from June 21 and last until at least July 15, the airline said.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
In email to flyers, Air India CEO lists safety inspections & steps
Mumbai: A week after the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft accident that left 275 people dead, Air India embarked on a confidence-building drive by emailing its passengers and frequent flyers a letter from the airline CEO listing the safety inspections and other measures it has taken. The letter comes in the wake of reduced demand for Air India flight tickets on medium and long haul sectors, as indicated by the drop in the airline's airfares. The airline announced a temporary 15% reduction in its international wide-body flights starting June 20 through to at least mid-July. "This will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues," the airline said. "If your flight is impacted, we will contact you to offer rebooking on another flight at no extra cost, or a full refund," it said, adding that the updated international schedule will be shared in a few days. The airline cited "enhanced safety inspections mandated after the tragic crash" as the reason for the reduction in its flight operations to destinations in the US and Europe, among others. Of the 33 B787 aircraft in its fleet, safety inspections have been completed for 26 and these were cleared for service, it said. "Following the review, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that our Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards," the letter said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "As a confidence-building measure, we elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks on our Boeing 787 fleet and, as an added measure, our Boeing 777 aircraft, for the time being," it added. The airline added the aircraft which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 was piloted by a commander with more than 10,000 hours of flying experience on wide-body aircraft and a first officer with 3,400 hours, the letter said. "The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," it added.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Airport lounge experience set for a change
NEW DELHI: Soon, you won't need to queue up to access an airport lounge. To boost lounge experience, several operators and credit card-issuing banks are planning direct business, removing aggregators on whose machine a flyer swipes their credit card to enter a lounge, reports Saurabh Sinha. They plan to launch an app where lounge access can be booked in advance. Then the passenger just needs to swipe their card at the lounge gate and be seated in a particular area as per their credit card status. "A flyer can log in with an OTP and link all his/her credit cards. The app will check whether he/she has lounge access available and then allow them to book a lounge at the airport they are flying out of," said an official. "For banks, lounge access is among key features of premium credit cards, but the experience at present is not good. So hard-selling premium cards using this as a USP becomes difficult. Full-service airlines are also upset that their premium passengers have to queue up in the same line with a credit card," said a source. However, many flyers have credit cards therefore the lounge use is no longer limited to those flying full-service airlines. Operators are planning to have separate areas for premium card, business, first class flyers to offer better experience at big lounges. However, two leading lounge operators said, "Aggregators have warned us of stopping lounge entry if they are removed from the business. We are taking legal steps to prevent that. " Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
