Latest news with #Kozhikode
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Are India's skies safe? Air safety watchdog responds amid rising concerns
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."
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Air India crash: Aviation chief defends safety record
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 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 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 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 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 DGCA's own audit in April "revealed even more deficiencies, including snag occurrences", the report 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 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 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 Kidwai told the BBC that the regulator had now "refined" its guidelines for pilots flying in turbulent 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 the country's scheduled carriers operate nearly 850 aircraft - a significant increase from around 400 just a decade number of air passengers has more than doubled since 2014–15 - from 116 million to 239 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."
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Enjoyable unpredictability
'Why do you still listen to the radio,' asked a friend, when you can tune into playlists and podcasts available. It is almost like, you name it, and we have it. At the snap of a finger, music is available on demand. That question really made me think and what I probably like about radio is the unpredictable nature of it. You never know which song will play next and that anticipation is indeed a pleasure. I still remember the good old days of the 1980s, much before TV came into our lives. My grandfather used to play radio mostly for film music, and All India Radio, Kozhikode did a good job of mixing new releases as well as reminding us of the black & white era songs. The only other source of listening to a song was by standing outside Lakshmi Talkies, which fortunately had no soundproofing then and standing at the gates one could clearly listen to the movie dialogues as well as the songs. Of course, there were vinyl records and cassette players, but you buy only a select few for your collection. Same holds true when TV was introduced in the mid-1980s in Kerala. Which Hindi movie they would screen on a Sunday evening was something we looked forward to. There was also a regional movie slot on Doordarshan and one would wait as to which language and culture to listen and watch. Will I have Jabbar Patel's Marathi or Girish Kasaravalli's Kannada movie? Or will they pick my home language Malayalam this week. That anticipation was a source of joy for the 12-year-old in me. Then came Chitrahaar, Chitramala and the joy was waiting in anticipation of which song is next. Will they play my favourite Amitabh Bachchan song or take me to the K.L. Saigal days. Fast-forward 2025 and we live in a much predictable world. We want the food items delivered in 15 minutes, we decide which movie to watch on streaming platforms, playlists are organised based on artist and singer. But then if you look around closely, what keeps you engaged in the information age is the unpredictable nature of it! Who will win this match? Will it be Gukesh or Carlsen? Where is this movie heading? What will the climax be? Is there a surprise waiting for us? I have worked hard for the exam. But how will the question paper be? What grade and marks will I get? Will I reach the airport on time for the flight? Can I learn this musical instrument? Will I be able to master it? I could go on and on. The point is this: while we have made many things predictable for a convenient life, you will always derive pleasure from the unpredictable nature of it. So, what are you waiting for, go switch on the radio and you never know, your favourite genre is probably playing there.
Malay Mail
12-06-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
India's worst air crashes: A timeline of major civilian plane crashes over the decades
NEW DELHI, June 13 — An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad yesterday, the airline and police said, and India's federal health minister said that 'many people' were killed. Following are details of some other airline accidents in India in recent years: Rescue workers look for survivors after a passenger plane crashed when it overshot the runway at the Calicut International Airport in Karipur, in the southern state of Kerala August 7, 2020. — Reuters pic August 2020 Twenty-one people died when an Air India Express Boeing 737 plane skidded off the runway in the southern city of Kozhikode during heavy rain, plunged into a valley and crashed nose-first into the ground. May 2010 An Air India Boeing 737 flight from Dubai overshot the runway at the airport in the southern city of Mangaluru and crashed into a gorge, killing 158 people on board. July 2000 More than 50 people were killed when a state-owned Alliance Air flight between Kolkata and the capital, New Delhi, crashed in a residential area of the eastern city of Patna. April 1993 An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed during takeoff in the western city of Aurangabad and killed 55 people on board. August 1991 An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 flight from Kolkata crashed during descent near Imphal, the capital of the hilly north-eastern state of Manipur, killing all 69 occupants onboard. October 1988 More than 130 passengers died when an Indian Airlines Boeing 737, flying from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, crashed as it was coming in to land. January 1978 All 213 passengers of an Air India flight were killed when the captain lost control of the plane after take-off and plunged it into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai, India's financial hub. — Reuters
Washington Post
12-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A look at previous plane crashes in India
NEW DELHI — India has had several major plane crashes in recent decades. An Air India flight with more than 240 people on board crashed in the city of Ahmedabad on Thursday. Here are some previous aircraft accidents in India: An Air India Express flight to bring back Indians stranded abroad by the COVID-19 pandemic skidded off a runway in heavy rain and cracked in two in southern India. Eighteen people including the two pilots were killed and more than 120 were injured. The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Dubai to Kozhikode in Kerala state. An Air India flight arriving from Dubai overshot the runway in the city of Mangalore and plunged over a cliff, killing 158 people out of the 166 on board. The wreckage of the Boeing 737-800 was strewn across a hillside. An Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 crashed into a residential area about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) from its destination and burst into flames in Patna, killing more than 50 people on board and five on the ground. A Saudi Arabian airlines Boeing 747 taking off from the airport in Delhi collided in midair with an arriving Kazakhstan Airline flight, killing all 349 people on both planes. It was one of the deadliest crashes in aviation history. An Indian Airlines 737-200 hit a truck beyond the runway while taking off and crashed soon after in the city of Aurangabad, killing 55 of the 118 people on board.
