2 days ago
India launches inspection of Boeing 787s after Air India crash
STORY: India's government is urgently inspecting all Boeing 787s, after a devastating Air India crash that claimed at least 270 lives this week.
That's according to aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who led a moment of silence for those who died in the disaster at a press conference on Saturday.
He added that the authorities were investigating all possible causes.
On Friday, the aviation regulator ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8 and 9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines.
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Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, and rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24.
The planes have not been grounded.
But a source on Friday told Reuters the Indian government was considering that as an option.
Air India and the Indian government are 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.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport with 242 people on board began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday.
It then erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Only one of the passengers and crew onboard survived, while others were killed as the plane struck a 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.
Meanwhile, anxious family members await news of their loved ones, with some hoping to collect the bodies of those killed in the crash.
Some say they have been told by authorities that it will take 72 hours for DNA profiling.
Imtiaz Syed Ali says his brother was on the flight when it crashed.
He says he came to give a DNA sample to help identify those who died, but added he does not trust the process.
"I have this mental urge to see the body of my deceased brother," he says. "That is when I will accept that this is my brother and he is dead."
Most bodies in the crash were badly charred, and authorities say they are using dental samples to run identification checks.
