The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, K Ram Mohan Naidu, to ground Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft over repeated technical failures. In a letter, the pilots’ body called for a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft, with particular attention to potential faults in their electrical systems.
“After the crash of AI-171, there have been many failures on the Air India aircraft. The safety of air travel is being compromised by not investigating the causes of failures on B-787s in the country. We once again appeal to the Hon’ble Minister to now ground all the B-787s of Air India and these aircraft be thoroughly checked, especially the Electrical Systems,” the letter stated.
Pilot’s Body Cites Two Recent Malfunctions in Air India’s Boeing 787
The federation highlighted two recent incidents involving Air India’s Boeing 787s.
The first occurred on October 4 during Air India flight AI-117’s approach to Birmingham, when the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was unexpectedly deployed.
The second involved flight AI-154 from Vienna to Delhi on October 9, which faced multiple technical malfunctions and was forced to divert to Dubai.
What is Federation of Indian Pilots Demanding?
The letter concluded with three specific requests to the minister:
Thorough Investigation: A detailed probe into both incidents involving AI-117 and AI-154.
Immediate Grounding and Checks: Temporary grounding of all Air India Boeing 787 aircraft for in-depth inspection of their electrical systems and repetitive snags.
Special Safety Audit: A special audit of Air India by senior staff from the Flight Safety Directorate (FSD), Air Safety, and Airworthiness divisions of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
