India Sees 11 Mayday Calls In 17 Months, 65 In-Flight Engine Shutdowns In 5 Years: Report
India has witnessed 65 in-flight engine shutdowns over the past five years and 11 Mayday distress calls from aircraft cockpits in just 17 months, according to data obtained by The Times of India through a Right to Information (RTI) query to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The numbers do not include the Air India flight to London, which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, or a domestic IndiGo flight that had to be diverted recently.
However, the data covers all engine shutdowns, including failures during take-off and mid-air, and points to an average of one engine malfunction per month.
In all cases, the aircraft were safely landed by the crew using the unaffected engine. Experts cited causes such as fuel contamination, blocked filters, turbine faults, and foreign object ingestion.
'Primary causes of engine shutdowns include blocked fuel filters, fuel contamination with water, interrupted fuel supply to engines, and foreign objects entering the engine stack, all of which can halt flight operations," Capt CS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, told TOI.
From January 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, 11 Mayday calls were issued, all involving technical glitches. Four of these flights landed in Hyderabad. The IndiGo flight on June 19 from Guwahati to Chennai, diverted to Bengaluru due to congestion and reporting low fuel before landing, was not part of the 11.
'Flight crew initiate MAYDAY calls when confronted with critical emergencies such as aircraft fires, engine failures or situations posing imminent danger, necessitating immediate landing or grounding as continued flight becomes unsafe," Anil Rao, secretary of the Airline Pilots' Association of India, told TOI.
AX Joseph, DGCA's director of air safety, stated that the regulator is responsible for issuing civil aviation requirements, circulars, and public notices to ensure safety compliance.
While experts acknowledge that such shutdowns and Maydays are not rare globally, the data underscores concerns over India's aviation safety record.
The report comes as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people.
The report had mentioned that Air India had replaced the Throttle Control Module (TCM) of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane twice in the last six years following a directive from Boeing in 2019.
It also said the TCM replacement was not linked to the fuel control switches.
On Monday, DGCA directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes.
There are more than 150 Boeing 737s and 787s being operated by Indian airlines. Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and IndiGo are the domestic carriers operating these aircraft.
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