Latest news with #LEAP-1A
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Air India Was Caught Faking Safety Records Even Before The 787 Crash
Air India Express, the budget subsidiary of Air India, has been accused of falsifying safety records to the Indian civil aviation authority months before before a deadly Boeing 787 crash killed over 200 people. The airline was supposed to update certain components on CFM International LEAP-1A engines found on Airbus A320neo planes by a specified date. According to the information Air India Express submitted to the government, they did make these repairs by the date. Only problem is, that information is fake. "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a memo sent privately to the airline, later acquired by Reuters. This was all the way back in March, meaning that the Indian government knew that there were lax safety standards -- and more than that, outright safety fraud -- going on at Air India months before the tragic Boeing 787 crash in June. For its part, Air India Express claimed that the erroneous information was due "the migration of records," which sounds a bit like a fifth-grader explaining what happened to his homework. Pay no attention to the fact that it immediately fired its quality manager and suspended its deputy continuing airworthiness manager, which surely is entirely unrelated to record migration. Read more: These Supercars Lose Value So Quickly, They're Almost A Steal An airline faking its safety records is very bad. Know what's also very bad? Pilots faking their medical records. According to Business Today, a number of pilots in India have been doing exactly that. This came to a head in April, when an Air India Express pilot -- in his 30s, no less -- died of a heart attack right after landing his plane, per Air Insight. That's a tragedy, but also a near miss, since he just as easily could have died mid-flight. He was later found to have had an underlying heart condition, which was not caught by any of his medical examinations. Were they faked, or were the standards too lax, or did the doctors screw up? With the eyes of the world watching after the 787 crash, the DGCA is cracking down. Civilian pilots now have to go through medical exams at Indian Air Force bases, which are pretty strict. That opens up its own problems, since the country's civilian sector is already going through a severe pilot shortage. Still, better a pilot shortage than falling planes. Clearly, Air India is a mess right now. Nearly half of all safety violations (that the Indian government caught, at least) in 2024 came from the airline and its Express subsidiary, per Reuters. When the private sector Tata Group took possession of the Air India from the government in 2022, its stated goal was to make it a "world class airline." From the looks of things, that's going to take a pretty major overhaul at this point. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Air India Was Caught Faking Safety Records Even Before The 787 Crash
Air India Express, the budget subsidiary of Air India, has been accused of falsifying safety records to the Indian civil aviation authority months before before a deadly Boeing 787 crash killed over 200 people. The airline was supposed to update certain components on CFM International LEAP-1A engines found on Airbus A320neo planes by a specified date. According to the information Air India Express submitted to the government, they did make these repairs by the date. Only problem is, that information is fake. "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a memo sent privately to the airline, later acquired by Reuters. This was all the way back in March, meaning that the Indian government knew that there were lax safety standards -- and more than that, outright safety fraud -- going on at Air India months before the tragic Boeing 787 crash in June. For its part, Air India Express claimed that the erroneous information was due "the migration of records," which sounds a bit like a fifth-grader explaining what happened to his homework. Pay no attention to the fact that it immediately fired its quality manager and suspended its deputy continuing airworthiness manager, which surely is entirely unrelated to record migration. Read more: These Supercars Lose Value So Quickly, They're Almost A Steal An airline faking its safety records is very bad. Know what's also very bad? Pilots faking their medical records. According to Business Today, a number of pilots in India have been doing exactly that. This came to a head in April, when an Air India Express pilot -- in his 30s, no less -- died of a heart attack right after landing his plane, per Air Insight. That's a tragedy, but also a near miss, since he just as easily could have died mid-flight. He was later found to have had an underlying heart condition, which was not caught by any of his medical examinations. Were they faked, or were the standards too lax, or did the doctors screw up? With the eyes of the world watching after the 787 crash, the DGCA is cracking down. Civilian pilots now have to go through medical exams at Indian Air Force bases, which are pretty strict. That opens up its own problems, since the country's civilian sector is already going through a severe pilot shortage. Still, better a pilot shortage than falling planes. Clearly, Air India is a mess right now. Nearly half of all safety violations (that the Indian government caught, at least) in 2024 came from the airline and its Express subsidiary, per Reuters. When the private sector Tata Group took possession of the Air India from the government in 2022, its stated goal was to make it a "world class airline." From the looks of things, that's going to take a pretty major overhaul at this point. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- First Post
Air India Express skipped critical engine fix, falsified records: Report
DGCA warned parent company Air India for operating three Airbus planes with overdue escape slide checks and, in June, slammed Air India Express for serious pilot duty hour violations read more India's aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in March had called out Air India Express for failing to replace engine parts on an Airbus A320, as mandated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This revelation comes amid increased scrutiny in the country's aviation sector following the deadly Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. According to a Reuters report citing official records, the airline also submitting falsified documents to fake compliance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Air India Express is a low-cost arm of Air India under the Tata Group and runs a fleet of over 115 planes, flying to more than 50 destinations with about 500 daily flights. What issues were flagged by DGCA? On March 18, the DGCA flagged issues with one of its Airbus planes, specifically aircraft VT-ATD, which flies domestic routes and international ones like Dubai and Muscat, per AirNav Radar. The regulator warned parent company Air India for operating three Airbus planes with overdue escape slide checks and, in June, slammed Air India Express for serious pilot duty hour violations. The DGCA in its notice said: 'This condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane.' Back in 2023, EASA raised alarms about manufacturing flaws in CFM International's LEAP-1A engines, ordering airlines to replace certain parts like seals and rotating components. CFM International is the joint venture between GE Aerospace (formerly GE Aviation) and Safran Aircraft Engines, specialising in the design, manufacture, and support of commercial aircraft engines A confidential March government memo, reviewed by Reuters, showed Air India Express didn't make the required engine fixes on time for the A320. Worse, it allegedly tampered with AMOS—the software airlines use to track maintenance—to falsely show the work was done. Air India Express admitted the slip-up and said it's put corrective measures in place, according to Reuters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-07-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Regulators Warned Air India Express about Delay on Airbus Engine Fix, Forging Records
NEW DELHI, July 4 (Reuters) – India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by the European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook 'remedial action and preventive measures.' Reacting to the Reuters story on Friday, the EU agency said it will investigate the matter. Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about 'serious violations' of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a 'potential unsafe condition' on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said 'this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the airplane.' The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification 'was not complied' on an engine of an Airbus A320 'within the prescribed time limit.' 'In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged,' the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse 'indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control,' it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. It did not give dates of compliance or directly address DGCA's comment about records being altered, but said that after the March memo it took 'necessary administrative actions,' which included removing the quality manager from the person's position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager. The DGCA did not respond to Reuters queries. In a statement issued after the Reuters story was published, the EU agency said it 'will investigate this matter further with' CFM and the DGCA. Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric GE.N and Safran did not respond to Reuters queries. The lapse was first flagged during a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the plane in question took only a few trips after it was supposed to replace the CFM engine parts, a source with direct knowledge said. 'Such issues should be fixed immediately. It's a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airspace,' said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Three of those cases involved Air India Express, and eight Air India. The Tata Group acquired Air India from the Indian government in 2022 and the Dreamliner crash has cast a shadow on its ambitions of making it a 'world class airline.' While Air India has aggressively expanded its international flight network over the months, it still faces persistent complaints from passengers, who often take to social media to show soiled seats, broken armrests, non-operational entertainment systems and dirty cabins.
The Advertiser
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Air India Express warned about checks, forged records
India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by the European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Reacting to the Reuters story on Friday, the EU agency said it will investigate the matter. Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane". The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by the European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Reacting to the Reuters story on Friday, the EU agency said it will investigate the matter. Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane". The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by the European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Reacting to the Reuters story on Friday, the EU agency said it will investigate the matter. Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane". The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by the European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Reacting to the Reuters story on Friday, the EU agency said it will investigate the matter. Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane". The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified.
