Air India slammed for ‘repeated violations' and three officials sacked over ‘systemic failures' in wake of horror crash
AIR India has been slammed for "repeated violations" with three officials sacked over "systemic failures" following the tragic crash.
Cracks within the airline have started to show after flight AI171
7
Crews search and clear the wreck
Credit: EPA
7
The plane crashed in a fireball at a doctor's hostel
Credit: x/nchorAnandN
7
Firefighters work at the site of the crash near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad
Credit: EPA
All passengers and crew -
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) urged Air India to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles, it has been revealed.
The three officials include a divisional vice president, a chief manager of crew scheduling and one planning executive.
Their sacking relates to lapses linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17 that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10 hours.
read more news
The order on Friday cited "systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversights" and criticised the lack of strict disciplinary measures against the officials.
Despite the latest action by the aviation authority against Air India being unrelated to this month's tragic crash, it has laid bare the significant issues with the airline.
On Thursday, it was also brought to light that authorities previously warned the airline for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment of escape slides.
The latest order by assistant director of operations at the DGCA, Himanshu Srivastava, said: "Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible."
Most read in The Sun
Air India said it has implemented the DGCA order and in the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre.
The airline added: "Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices."
Shock moment passenger threatens to CRASH Air India plane mid-flight in furious row just days after Ahmedabad disaster
The DGCA stated in its order that Air India had voluntarily disclosed the violations.
Investigators are continuing their probe into what caused the airline's London-bound plane to plunge to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad.
Air India said on Thursday that the
The airline's chief N Chandrasekaran also hit back at 'speculation' on what caused the London-bound flight to crash a minute after take-off.
And it was revealed that the
The Indian government has the final say on who probes the device, but reports say the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C. is being considered for the analysis.
A team of Indian investigators is expected to accompany the device to ensure all protocols are followed during the
Investigators warned on Tuesday that the recovered
7
The plane seconds before disaster with its landing gear still extended
Credit: x/nchorAnandN
7
People stand near debris at the crash site
Credit: EPA
7
The plane's tail can be seen sticking out of a building following the crash
Credit: AP
7
Lone survivor of the Air India plane crash Vishwash Ramesh pictured at his family home in Diu, India
Credit: Dan Charity
Planes usually carry
One records flight data, such as altitude and speed, whilst the other monitors the cockpit sound.
The
Despite the name, these devices are painted bright orange for visibility amid debris.
Investigators believe the CVR on this 2014-delivered aircraft likely stored only two hours of cockpit audio.
The jet predates a 2021 rule which enforced 25-hour recordings on all planes.
But the FDR is capable of logging thousands of flight parameters for over 25 hours, including altitude, airspeed, and control inputs.
The aircraft had climbed less than 600 feet before its ascent stalled, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
A distress signal was sent but was met with complete radio silence.
Moments later, the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex near the airport's northeastern boundary.
The damaged black box is now seen as a crucial piece of evidence in understanding what led to India's worst air disaster in nearly three decades.
Investigators hope the data from the box will shed light on the aircraft's final moments.
52 Brits died on board the flight, but London local
Leading theories on Air India Flight AI171
THESE are some of the leading theories explaining the tragic Air India disaster which killed at least 270 people.
Emergency power system
: A small turbine generator was seen deploying as the Boeing 787 went down, experts said.
Footage showed a "protrusion on the belly of the aircraft" with a "little grey dot" beneath it.
Commentators say this was a system called Ram Air Turbine (RAT) poking out from the fuselage of the plane.
Bird Strikes
: A bird strike could have taken out both of the jet's giant General Electric engines.
While a bird taking down something the size of a commercial airliner might sound fanciful, there are numerous examples.
Wing flap position
: Aviation experts have suggested the position of the aircraft's wing flaps could have played a role in the disaster.
Video evidence suggests the flaps were either fully retracted or on a very minimal setting, which would have provided very little lift.
The flaps provide crucial extra lift at low speeds during take-offs and landings.
Pilot error
: The state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 is highly automated, with human pilots making only key decisions - but human error cannot be ruled out.
Co-pilot Clive Kundar had more than 3,400 hours of flying experience and made the mayday call but Captain Sumeet Sabharwa at the helm had 11,500 hours - making him one of Air India's most experienced pilots.
Heat
: Planes get less lift on a hot day due to lower air density, and therefore they need to go faster to get as much lift as on a cooler day.
This is particularly important when an airliner is heavy with fuel, passengers and baggage, as the Air India flight was.
Technical error
: Catastrophic technical or engineering issues have not been ruled out.
The jet's complex design mean it could take months for a design or engineering fault to be pinpointed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Over 400 suppliers attend Tirlán's 'Farming for the Future' event
Over 400 Tirlán suppliers and their families were welcomed to the flagship Farming for the Future on-farm event. The event aimed to showcase the collaborative work underway to enhance and support environmental and economic sustainability on farms. It brought together farmers, agri-experts, and industry sustainability leaders for a day of hands-on demonstrations, expert-led talks and discussions on the family farm of Seamus Brennan, in Co Laois. Tirlán Chairperson John Murphy chats with brothers Tom andf Bill O'Brien from Danesford Co Kilkenny, at Tirlán's flagship 'Farming for the Future' open farm walk and talk on Seamus Brennan's farm at Attanagh, Co Laois. Photo: Finbarr O'Rourke Speaking at the event, John Murphy, the Tirlám chair, said: 'The numbers here today demonstrate our commitment to sustainability in the fullest sense – both economic and environmental sustainability. And we know this is so important as we are in the countdown to the decision regarding the renewal of the nitrates derogation in December." Also at the event was Ireland MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú who said: 'Recent EPA reports show a substantial decline in nitrogen concentrations in selected rivers over the last 12 months when compared to 2023. Nitrogen concentration levels in 2024 were comparable to 2016 levels. "Farmers are adopting measures at the farm level that deliver continued improvements to water quality. We are on the right track, and everyone should welcome that. Improved water quality is the key to securing Ireland's Nitrates Derogation beyond 2025." 'The River Slaney Project is an example of what can be achieved when farmers, advisors, local authorities, and industry partners come together with a shared purpose. The progress we've made in just one year shows the power of collaboration in driving meaningful, science-based action to protect our water and biodiversity for future generations,' said Dr Lisa Koep, chief ESG officer at Tirlán. Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland, said Ireland has six months to put the best case forward to retain the nitrates derogation. He said the co-ordinated effort between all bodies has been encouraging to see. Tirlán Chairperson John Murphy chats with host farmer Seamus Brennan at Tirlán's flagship 'Farming for the Future' open farm walk and talk on the Brennan farm at Attanagh, Co Laois. Photo: Finbarr O'Rourke 'Every single one of us is on the same path. Water quality and the improvement of water quality underpin the future of our family-based, grass-based dairy industry.' Host Seamus Brennan and his family are farming in derogation and have always tried to go the extra mile to keep things ticking over, particularly when it comes to slurry and fertiliser applications. 'I'm hoping to invest in an underground tank soon to make more use of the slurry. We're probably not getting as much out of it as we could – we're probably spreading it that bit early. I'll also look into solar. I've also put in an EIP application for other works,' Mr Brennan told the crowds.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Problem at work? You'll be hearing from my chatbot
People say nothing funny ever happens on LinkedIn and in my experience, people are right. But the other day, a colleague showed me a post on the site from a man named Chris who said he had started joining online meetings 30 seconds early, all the better to be discreetly recorded by the AI note-taking assistants now used to transcribe virtual meetings. He then starts screaming that he is on the Titanic, which has just hit an iceberg, and needs help pronto, before carrying on normally for the rest of the meeting. 'When the meeting ends,' he wrote, 'everyone gets an emailed transcript where the AI summary is: 'Chris hit an iceberg, is trapped on a sinking ship, and general Q2 pricing updates.'' READ MORE I enjoyed this story and hope it travels far because finally, someone may have found a good use for AI in the office. Obviously I hear constantly about the latest 'use case' in the 'AI space' that is going to make working life more productive, efficient and streamlined. I also realise that scientists at Google DeepMind were joint winners of last year's Nobel chemistry prize for an AI model that is already helping to speed up work on intractable problems such as antibiotic resistance and plastic pollution. In the right hands, artificial intelligence can be a force for great good. It's just that I keep coming across people like Sarah Harrop, who know how dire it can be in the wrong hands. Harrop is an employment partner at the Addleshaw Goddard law firm in London, which means she deals with claims of unfair dismissal, discrimination and other forms of mistreatment. IATA Director General Willie Walsh on airline profits, air fares and why the Dublin Airport passenger cap makes Ireland a laughing stock Listen | 35:56 Since the arrival of ChatGPT , she says there has been a distinct rise in the number of vastly more detailed, lengthy and outwardly credible correspondence to HR departments and employment tribunals. The documents often contain references to legal precedents and other references to the law that don't always turn out to be accurate, but take hours to sort through. 'We have seen examples where there are dozens and dozens of pieces of correspondence sent to the employment tribunal,' she told me. The length of the documents and the speed at which they are generated suggests they are almost certainly produced by robots rather than humans, she said, adding this causes 'significant pressure' for employers and tribunals. I can well imagine what a tedious and costly burden this can be for employers, and I am sure they are not alone. I mentioned Harrop's observations to a few people last week and quickly learnt that employees are by no means the only ones using AI to turbocharge complaints. A man who has been a school governor for many years said the volume and intensity of what were almost certainly AI-assisted complaints from parents had skyrocketed in the past 18 months. The complaints were often well crafted and included convincing references to legal precedents that made them hard to ignore, he said, even though the longest ones invariably turned out to be specious. I do not see this situation easing any time soon. The internet is now awash with sites offering to harness the power of AI to generate powerful, well-written complaints. I tested one designed for employees by telling it I wanted a letter about the extent to which male lavatories outnumbered female ones in a large office I recently visited. Within seconds, it spat back a brisk, grammatically correct and unnervingly persuasive indictment of what it called an unfair and discriminatory arrangement that 'presents a negative and potentially unprofessional impression' to female guests. I'm not going to deny that this induced a surge of gratitude, and the realisation that there must be many times when an AI-aided complaint is fully justified. Shoddy products, unfair parking tickets and malevolent employers are doubtless all grounds for a souped-up grievance letter. But a world in which those charged with handling complaints are buried beneath an avalanche of AI-generated verbiage of questionable legitimacy is not a good one. How tempting it must feel to stop diligently wading through the crud and go over to the dark side by simply using AI to respond. I don't suppose we will ever reach the point where we leave it to the bots to fight it out and get back to us once they are done. But then again, can we say for sure that we won't? – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Sunday World
16 hours ago
- Sunday World
Four Irish nationals arrested on Costa Blanca after cops smash cocaine gang
Nearly 85 kilos of cocaine was seized in the operation, camouflaged inside a drilling machine Nearly 85 kilos of cocaine was camouflaged inside a drilling machine due to be shipped to Ireland by a firm in the small town of Monovar about a 35-minute drive inland from Alicante FOUR Irish nationals have been arrested on the Costa Blanca after police there smashed a gang smuggling cocaine and hashish hidden in industrial machinery into the UK and Ireland from Spain. Nearly 85 kilos of cocaine was seized in the operation, camouflaged inside a drilling machine due to be shipped to Ireland by a firm in the small town of Monovar about a 35-minute drive inland from Alicante. Police sources say another 340 kilos of cannabis resin linked to the gang and sent via a company in the south-eastern Spanish province of Murcia was discovered at French customs. Respected local paper Informacion said two guns were also seized. The arrests took place in Orihuela Costa and San Miguel de Salinas on the Costa Blanca. The four suspects, who have not been named, were freed on bail pending an ongoing criminal probe after appearing in court. The Civil Guard, the police force which led the investigation resulting in the arrests, has yet to make any official comment. Officers are not expected to make any formal comment until they rule the operation against the gang has concluded. Further arrests have not been ruled out. Local reports said the start point for the investigation was on June 2 when a transport firm based in the province of Murcia reported the arrest of one of its drivers in France a few days earlier following the discovery of the cannabis resin on board his Liverpool-bound lorry. A Murcia court reportedly authorised detectives to put trackers on the company's vehicles. The arrests were made after one of the suspects dropped off the industrial drilling machine due to be shipped to Dublin and police discovered the cocaine inside. Spanish investigators are said to have removed the cocaine and allowed the drilling machine to be sent to Ireland on June 13 so counterparts so Gardaí could try to identify the people receiving the delivery. It was not immediately clear this morning if further arrests had taken place in Ireland. In March a Spanish-Irish investigation into the Dublin gang known as The Family resulted in the seizure of drugs valued at around EUROS 30 million and the arrests of 20 people. Spanish cops said at the time the criminals hid the drugs in secret compartments in vehicles they fitted out with the narcotics at a warehouse on an industrial estate in the east coast Spanish city of Castellon between Barcelona and Valencia. More than 300 kilos of cocaine and 220 kilos of marihuana were seized in the operation according to Spanish police. Thirteen of the 20 detentions took place in Spain according to police there and the other seven in Ireland. The suspects, aged between 30 and 50, were described as Spanish, Colombian, Irish and British.
