DGCA Orders Air India to Reinspect Some Systems on Boeing 787s

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India’s aviation regulator has ordered Air India Ltd. to re-examine the emergency power system on Boeing 787 planes whose modules were recently replaced, Press Trust of India reported.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also asked Boeing Co. to submit a detailed report on preventive steps to prevent the so-called uncommanded deployment of the Ram Air Turbine, according to the report, which quoted an unnamed senior official from the agency.

Emails to both Air India and Boeing seeking comment on the report were not responded to. The RAT is one of many backup safety systems on the aircraft and is intended to be used only in emergencies to protect critical systems such as flight controls and navigation.

Air safety practices in India, one of the fastest-growing aviation markets as the economy grows, have been under intense scrutiny following several recent incidents. A RAT was unexpectedly deployed before landing on the Amritsar-Birmingham flight earlier this month, and the Vienna-Delhi flight on October 9 was diverted to Dubai after the autopilot and other systems malfunctioned, PTI reported.

Separately, an Air India flight crashed just seconds after takeoff in Ahmedabad, India, on June 30, killing all but one of the 242 people on board. The final report on the incident is still awaited.

PTI said the Indian Pilots’ Federation has appealed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to conduct a special inspection of Air India’s 787 fleet and consider grounding the affected aircraft.

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