Air India crash: Aviation chief defends safety record

BBC News

6 days ago

Just how safe are India's skies? It's a question many are asking after June's devastating Air India crash, which killed at least 270 people. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India on 12 June."India's skies have always been safe - in the past and even today," said Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - India's aviation safety regulator - in an interview with the BBC."If you look at global safety metrics, such as those published by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which track the number of accidents per million flights, India consistently performs better than the world average," he said. "There were only two years within the 2010–2024 period where we exceeded the global average - those were the years when major accidents occurred."In August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344 crashed after skidding off a rain-soaked tabletop runway in Kozhikode, killing 21 people. A decade earlier, in May 2010, Flight 812 from Dubai overshot the runway in Mangalore and plunged into a gorge, leaving 158 dead. June's Air India crash was the third such accident in the country in 15 years.While such major accidents remain rare, recent headlines have raised fresh concerns. From a Delhi-Srinagar flight that hit severe turbulence, to growing reports of maintenance oversights and training shortfalls, questions around aviation safety are once again in focus.The latest involved SpiceJet, India's fourth-largest and longest-running low-cost airline.
The Economic Times newspaper found that the aviation regulator had recently summoned the airline's leadership after a series of alarming findings - not from routine audits, but triggered by a British aviation firm.The newspaper reported that it began earlier this year when two of SpiceJet's De Havilland Q400 turboprops showed premature propeller failures. The airline alerted Dowty Propellers, a GE Aerospace-led UK manufacturer, which found damage to the internal bearings of the propellers.Each propeller has bearings with two races, or rings or tracks. In this case, the inner race was damaged. Instead of addressing the root cause, SpiceJet "reportedly kept applying more grease to the [entire] unit instead of addressing the root cause". Frustrated by the lack of corrective action, Dowty escalated the issue directly to India's aviation regulator, the newspaper reported.The DGCA's own audit in April "revealed even more deficiencies, including snag occurrences", the report said.Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the "turboprop propeller issue came to our attention through one of SpiceJet's maintenance organisations". "We took it up with SpiceJet and we ensured they took corrective action. We also found out that the senior management was not fully aware of the situation. We took action against the various post holders who were supposed to ensure compliance with the original equipment manufacturer and other regulations. We directed SpiceJet to remove them and suspend a few of them which they did," he said.More recently, Reuters reported that the aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for delaying mandatory engine part replacements on an Airbus A320 and falsifying records to show compliance. Air India Express told the news agency it acknowledged the error to DGCA and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the information in this case came through "self-reporting by the airline"."I would not condone it [the lapses]. But [at least] we have started getting these reports. This came from the airline. Action has been taken in this case. In our audits we have mandated our people to be more alert and see whether there is any lapse and bring it to our attention."
In May, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar faced severe turbulence and hail about 45 minutes after takeoff.The Airbus A321, carrying 222 passengers, reportedly encountered extreme vertical air currents - updrafts followed by downdrafts - that dislodged overhead bins and caused nose damage. The crew declared an emergency and safely landed at Srinagar with no injuries. The regulator launched an investigation, during which two pilots were grounded.Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the regulator had now "refined" its guidelines for pilots flying in turbulent conditions.For instance, if there's significant cloud cover or any weather pattern that poses a risk - and "we've clearly defined what constitutes such a risk" - pilots are now required to take specific action a set number of nautical miles before reaching it, he said. "This could include diverting, going around, or taking other appropriate steps."Since 2020, Indian domestic carriers have reported 2,461 technical faults, according to the federal civil aviation ministry data. IndiGo accounted for over half (1,288), followed by SpiceJet with 633, and Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express with 389 cases, as of January 2025."Reporting of snags by airlines has gone up. This is good," Mr Kidwai said."I wouldn't say I'm pleased about it. But I do see value in the growing culture of reporting [snags]. It's far better for every snag to be brought to the attention of the authorities than keeping quiet and operating the aircraft." Mr Kidwai said with the number of flights increasing, it's important to "see whether the turnaround time for flights is adequate for [maintenance] checks or not".To be sure, demands on the regulator have grown: India has emerged as the third-largest passenger aviation market in the world. Yet, over the past two years, the ministry of civil aviation has faced budget cuts, reflecting a reduced financial priority for the sector.Today, the country's scheduled carriers operate nearly 850 aircraft - a significant increase from around 400 just a decade ago.The number of air passengers has more than doubled since 2014–15 - from 116 million to 239 million.The number of commercial aerodromes has also seen a substantial rise - from around 60-70 a decade ago to nearly 130-140 today."In total, including both scheduled and non-scheduled operators, we now have 1,288 aircraft in operation. By the end of the decade, we are projected to operate over 2,000 aircraft," Mr Kidwai said. (Non-scheduled operators include charter airlines, private jet operators, air taxis and helicopter services.)So had the latest Air India crash dented the reputation of air travel in India? Mr Kidwai said the data didn't point to that."We looked at the data to assess whether it had any impact on domestic or international operations. There was no significant drop in traffic. At most, we observed a very marginal dip for a short period, affecting both domestic and international flights, along with a few cancellations," he told the BBC."It's natural for people to feel anxious after such incidents. But over time, as more clarity emerges and the situation is better understood, that anxiety tends to subside. Time is a great healer."