Tail fire, runway skid: The symbolism in Air India's safety slip-ups

India Today

5 days ago

These are really tough and unpredictable times for Air India. The beleaguered airline hasn't yet recovered from the disaster of Flight AI171, and fresh trouble, one after the other, continues to tarnish its safety record.On July 22, Air India passengers were disembarking at the Delhi airport from Flight AI315, which had flown in from Hong Kong, when a fire erupted in the auxiliary power unit (APU) in the tail area of the plane. The aircraft was grounded and the matter reported to aviation authorities.advertisement'There was some damage to the aircraft. However, passengers and crew members disembarked normally, and are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for further investigations and the regulator has been duly notified,' Air India said in a statement.That's just the latest black mark on what is fast becoming a questionable resume of an airline owned by one of the country's most-trusted business houses, the Tatas. It all started with the dreadful June 12 crash of the London-bound Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, just after take-off from Ahmedabad. Lives lost: 260.
The preliminary investigation report has hinted at engine problems and crew confusion in the cockpit, though no verdict has been reached yet and investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board and India's Air Accidents Investigation Bureau are working to determine what had gone wrong.But it probably doesn't get much worse than this for an airline trying desperately to recast its image. As expected, controversy echoed in Parliament, where the monsoon session has just begun. In the Rajya Sabha, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu assured MPs that the investigation was ongoing and would be transparent.Naidu addressed concerns raised by the preliminary probe report about the fuel-control switches perhaps being accidentally flipped, cutting power to the plane's engines. In the Lok Sabha, proceedings remained suspended briefly amidst Opposition sloganeering.The Rajya Sabha witnessed further discussions as the government—countering foreign media speculation—clarified that there were no plans to hand over the crash probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The civil aviation ministry faced tough questions about oversight, if any, by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), especially in light of nine safety notices issued to Air India before the crash.The DGCA had issued nine showcause notices over the past six months in the name of Air India in five cases of safety violation. As of now, just one is in effect; one is being weighed.And just a day before the APU fire on Flight AI315, an Air India A320—an Airbus single-aisle narrow-body plane—had skidded off the Mumbai runway in heavy rain. The aircraft veered approximately 16-17 meters off the main runway and entered an unpaved area before coming to a halt on an adjacent taxiway. The plane slid off into grass after it came to a stop. Three tyres exploded and the engine cowling was damaged. No one was injured. The plane was removed from service for inspection.advertisementFollowing the recent DGCA directive to all airlines to get fuel-control switches of their Boeing jets inspected by July 21, Air India said it had undertaken voluntary inspection of the locking device of fuel control switch (FCS) and 'safety general review' of its B787 and B737 fleet, and that no issues had been found with the locking gears.The fuel switch has been heavily under the lens since the early investigation into the Flight AI171 suggested that the switch may have been accidentally turned off during take-off, which could have led to fuel starvation. Pilots were trying to restore power but to no avail.Pilots' associations in India have demanded that the entire audio recording of the cockpit voice recorder in the ill-fated plane be made public in the interest of transparency and to clear the cloud of suspicion on the Flight AI171's pilots.advertisementIn the meantime, Air India's safety worries have hit a rough patch, what with the APU fire and runway skidding episodes. It is difficult to ignore the symbolism—a plane catching fire while passengers are alighting and a botch-up on the runway amidst fresh wounds of a fatal crash. Clearly, for the embattled airline, building safety, efficiency and trust may take much more than a fleet of new planes or a lick of fresh paint.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsTune InMust Watch