 "An Air India Airbus A321 aircraft takes off at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India, on June 17, 2025. Reuters File")
Air India received nine show-cause notices from the government in the past six months over five identified safety violations, Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol said in Rajya Sabha on Monday, adding that enforcement action has been taken against one such case.
Answering a question about the Air India Dreamliner 787 crash on June 12 that killed 260 people, MoS Mohol stated that the government has not observed an adverse trend in the reliability reports of the aircraft over the last six months.
The airline, particularly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, has come under intense scrutiny after a preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) showed that a cutoff to the fuel switches caused the crash.
The report raised questions about Air India’s safety standard checks after it mentioned that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued an advisory, recommending an inspection of the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches.
After AAIB’s report was published, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes. However, Air India said it had found “no issues” in the locking mechanism on its planes.
Should Boeing 787 be grounded?
In the Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, an MP asked the government whether it’s planning to ground Boeing 787 Dreamliners from the civil aviation sector amid speculations of the fleet’s unfitness to fly.
In a written response to a question from Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol stated that no such proposal is currently under consideration.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“DGCA, on 13.06.2025, has ordered to conduct the checks/inspections of all 33 787-Dreamliner aircraft of Air India. Out of a total of 33 aircraft, 31 operational aircraft have been inspected, wherein minor findings were observed in 8 aircraft. These aircraft have been released for operation post rectification. The remaining 2 aircraft are under scheduled maintenance. There are a total of 190 aircraft ( Boeing B787-8/9/, B777-200/300, Airbus -350, Airbus 320 and Airbus 321). Out of which, 31 aircraft are on ground for scheduled maintenance. No significant technical, crew and maintenance gaps found for grounding of these 31 aircraft," Mohol stated.
AI plane skids off runway
An Air India aircraft from Kochi veered off the runway while landing in heavy rain at the city airport, following which operations in one of the runways were temporarily suspended on Monday morning.
All passengers and crew are safe.
“There are minor damages reported to the airport’s primary runway - 09/27. In order to ensure continuity of operations, the Secondary Runway 14/32 has been activated,” Mumbai airport said in a statement.
Sources told PTI that three tyres of the plane suffered a burst besides damage to the engine due to the incident. “Engine sucked up a bunch of dirt after getting into the mud,” the source added.
An airline spokesperson said the flight AI2744, operating from Kochi to Mumbai, experienced heavy rain during landing, resulting in a runway excursion after touchdown.
With inputs from agencies