Latest news with #Boeing787Dreamliner
Hindustan Times
17 hours ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Minor increase in sick leaves by Air India pilots after Ahmedabad crash: Centre
NEW DELHI: There was a minor increase in instances of Air India pilots going on sick leave across all fleets after its London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, the government told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol (ANI Grab) 'Air India reported a minor increase in sick leaves reported by pilots across all fleets in the aftermath of the AI-171 accident. On 16.06.202, a total of 112 pilots reported sick, comprising 51 Commanders (P1) and 61 First Officers (P2),' minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written statement in response to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party's Hardoi MP Jai Prakash. The MP had asked the government about remedial measures such as holding post-trauma mental health workshops to mitigate the stress of pilots and cabin crew in view of the air crash. To be sure, the minister told parliament on March 20 this year that Air India has a total of 3,280 pilots. Mohol said the DGCA has already issued a medical circular regarding mental health of flight crews and air traffic controllers (ATCOs) on 22 Feb 2023, which lays down guidelines for operators (scheduled and non-scheduled) and DGCA-empanelled medical examiners.' He added that the guidelines include 'quick and effective methods to assess mental health that can easily be performed by the DGCA-empanelled medical examiners during the Class 1/2/3 medical examination.' The government has also introduced a standalone, customised training capsule for flight crew and ATCOs to help recognise and manage the adverse effects of mental health conditions, he said. Airlines have been advised to implement this initiative, the minister said. The minister underlined that scheduled and non-scheduled operators, flying training organisations and the Airport Authority of India have been advised to have a Peer Support Programme (PSP) in place for their employees. 'The organisations are required to enable, facilitate and ensure access to this proactive and non-punitive programme that will assist and support flight crew/ATCOs in recognising, coping with and overcoming any problem,' the minister said. Since the June 12 crash, at least 15 other operational issues and serious incidents have been reported involving Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express. The Boeing 787 crash on June 12 was one of aviation's deadliest tragedies in recent years, which prompted comprehensive safety reviews. A preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) has identified fuel control switches set to 'cut off' during takeoff as the main cause of the crash. Why the switches were flipped is under investigation.
Mint
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Air India crash: 112 pilots called in sick on June 16 after AI-171 tragedy, airline saw spike in leaves
The Central government informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday, July 24 that many pilots linked to Air India reported sick after AI-171 plane crash on June 12 that killed 260 people. On June 16, a total of 112 pilots across Air India's fleet reported sick after the tragic plane crash, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said. London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed just outside the Ahmedabad airport seconds after takeoff. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was on his way to London, was also killed in the plane crash. The pilots who reported sick included 51 commanders and 61 first officers. The response came to an unstarred question raised by MP Jai Prakash regarding reports of mass sick leave among Air India flight crew after the incident. Speaking of the mental well-being of the flight crew after the Air India plane crash, the minister said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had already issued a circular in February 2023 with detailed guidelines on mental health support for flight crews and Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs). The guidelines included easy and quick mental health checks by DGCA-approved medical examiners during regular medical exams and special training modules to help crew and ATCOs understand and deal with mental health challenges. It also includes a Peer Support Programme (PSP) designed to let employees seek help in a safe, supportive environment—without fear of disciplinary action. Earlier, on July 21, answering a question about the probe into the AI-171 crash, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu that the decoding of the Black Box had occurred in India for the first time. Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Naidu said, "First set of the probe is done and a preliminary report is out. Earlier, whenever Black Box had slight damage, the black box used to be sent to the manufacturer for decoding. For the first time, the decoding of the Black Box has happened in India." Lauding the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Naidu said that the agency is 'unbiased.'
Hans India
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
India's aviation safety norms match ICAO, European Union standards: Naidu
New Delhi: India's DGCA has comprehensive and structured regulations for safe operation of aircraft and their maintenance, which are continuously updated and aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu told the Parliament on Thursday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also has a structured surveillance and audit framework in place for planned and unplanned surveillance of organisations and aircraft, which includes regular and periodic audits, spot checks, night surveillance and ramp inspections across all operators, including continuous oversight of maintenance practices. In case there is a violation, the aviation regulator takes enforcement action as per its Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual, the minister told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question. The question pertained to the air safety measures being taken against the backdrop of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. Naidu also said that the aircraft bearing registration VT-ANB, which crashed, underwent routine maintenance and safety inspections as per the approved maintenance program in compliance with DGCA regulations and the manufacturer's guidelines. He further stated that there are 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in the fleet of Indian carriers. Out of which, 31 operational aircraft have been inspected, wherein minor findings were observed in 8 aircraft. These aircraft have been released for operation post rectification. The remaining two aircraft are under scheduled maintenance. Naidu said that India has ratified the Montreal Convention, 1999 by making amendments to the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 in 2009, which inter alia provides the liabilities of carriers for compensation in case of death, delay, damage or loss to persons, baggage, or cargo for international carriage. The minister said Air India has informed that it has released an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the Next of Kin (NoK) of 128 deceased persons as on July 18. For the remaining deceased, the payment of interim compensation is in various stages of document submission by the NoK. The process for the final compensation will be initiated after the completion of the disbursement of interim compensation. Air India has also informed that the registration of the requisite Trust by TATA Sons has been completed on July 18, and the airline is in the process of initiating the requisite documentation and verification formalities to enable the disbursement of the voluntary ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore each to the NoK of the deceased. Further, Air India is assisting families of the deceased and injured in various ways, such as travel arrangements, accommodation, medical expenses and immediate cash payments to daily wage earners who were injured, the minister said. He further stated that a preliminary report on the accident has been published by AAIB on July 12 and is available on their website The investigation is in progress to determine the probable causes and contributory factors leading to the accident, the minister added.
Hans India
a day ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Remains from AI crash belongs to strangers: UK families
London: British families grieving after the Air India disaster have discovered that the remains of their loved ones have been wrongly identified before repatriation, according to an aviation lawyer representing them. Relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger. In another case, the 'commingled' remains of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket and had to be separated before the interment could go ahead, the Daily Mail reported. The news came before the start of a two-day state visit to London by India's prime minister on Wednesday. Narendra Modi will meet his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, to sign a landmark free trade agreement between India and the UK. The mistakes emerged when the senior coroner for London Inner West, Dr Fiona Wilcox, sought to verify the repatriated Britons' identities by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families, the Mail reported. A London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing 241 people onboard, of whom 52 were returning Britons. Another 19 people died on the ground and 67 were seriously injured. A preliminary report found the plane's fuel switches had been moved to cut-off, deepening the mystery of what happened and leaving families distressed and seeking answers. The report from India's aircraft accident investigation bureau, published on 10 July, said both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the cut-off position immediately after takeoff, stopping fuel supply to the engines. While some of the dead were cremated or buried in India, the remains of at least 12 victims had been repatriated, said James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer representing many of the British families. He said he was expecting Starmer to raise these issues with Modi this week at their meeting in London. 'The families deserve urgent answers and assurances about the whereabouts of their loved ones,' said Healy-Pratt, who told the Mail he was looking into what had happened during the identification process. 'I've been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back. But some of them have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks [and] I think these families deserve an explanation.' He said while the family who received the 'commingled' remains had been able to have them separated to hold a funeral service, the second family had been left 'in limbo'.
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- General
- Gulf Today
Families received wrong remains of Air India crash victims: Lawyer
Relatives of a British victim killed in last month's Air India crash received a casket that contained mixed remains, a lawyer representing several families and UK media said on Wednesday. The family of a separate victim received the remains of another person, according to James Healy-Pratt, who is representing 20 British families who lost loved ones in the disaster. A total of 241 people on board the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner died when the plane crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India on June 12. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Several people on the ground also died while only one passenger, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash. Firefighters carry a victim's body after the Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area. File / AFP Healy-Pratt told the Press Association news agency that the return of victims' remains had been marred by serious errors, which had been identified following a probe by a British coroner. "In the first two caskets that were repatriated, in one of the caskets, there was co-mingling of DNA which did not relate to the deceased in that casket or the casket that accompanied it," he said. The lawyer added the coroner was then "able to determine that one particular loved one was not at all who the family thought they were." Miten Patel, whose mother Shobhana Patel died along with her husband in the disaster, told the BBC that "other remains" were found in her casket after her body was returned to Britain. Health workers shift the body of a victim, who died in the plane crash, to a cold storage at a hospital, in the aftermath of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash during take-off from an airport, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi "People were tired and there was a lot of pressure. But there has to be a level of responsibility that you're sending the right bodies to the UK," he told the broadcaster. The Daily Mail newspaper first reported two cases in which the wrong remains were apparently returned to families in Britain. India's foreign ministry said all remains "were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased." "We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue," the statement added. Agence France-Presse
