Air India Pilots Demand Boeing 787 Dreamliner Grounding After Safety Concerns

Air India Pilots Demand Boeing 787 Dreamliner Grounding After Safety Concerns

Air India flight's unusual RAT deployment on Sunday has raised safety concerns, leading India's largest pilots' union to call for grounding all Boeing 787 Dreamliners pending electrical system checks. This follows a fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 on June 12.

The recent incident involved an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of 27 such aircraft in its fleet. On its final approach to Birmingham, the plane's RAM Air Turbine (RAT) deployed unexpectedly, despite the engines functioning normally. This is unusual, as the RAT typically activates during major engine failure.

A preliminary report on the June 12 crash, which killed 251 passengers and crew, revealed that fuel cutoff switches were moved to CUTOFF shortly after takeoff, causing the plane to crash. Following this, some airlines ordered urgent checks of fuel engine cutoff switches on their Boeing 787 Dreamliners but found no malfunctions. The plane involved in the crash was temporarily grounded for inspection, with no issues found with engines, electrical systems, or hydraulics.

The Federation of Indian Pilots has now requested all Boeing 787s in India to undergo similar engineering checks. They have written to regulators asking for the aircraft to be grounded until these checks are completed.

Air India, the only Indian airline operating Boeing 787-8s, has not reported any direct sharing of these aircraft with other airlines like Norse Atlantic. The union's call for grounding highlights the seriousness of the safety concerns. Regulators are expected to respond to the union's request soon, with the safety of passengers and crew being the top priority.

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