Gaurav Taneja praises Air India pilots for refusing unsafe flights after Ahmedabad crash

Gaurav Taneja took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the precautionary step that the pilots are taking after the Ahmedabad plane crash.

Amid a recent spate of Air India cancellations following the Ahmedabad plane crash, content creator Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, has praised the pilots for taking a firm stance by refusing to fly aircraft they considered unsafe.

On Tuesday, Gaurav had posted a video defending the pilots involved in the Air India Flight 171, which crashed in Ahmedabad.(Facebook/@flyingbeast320)

Gaurav Taneja praises Air India pilots

As a ripple effect following the Ahmedabad plane crash, several other Air India flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gaurav took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the precautionary step that the pilots are taking.

Reacting to the several cancellations, Gaurav wrote, “Lot of Air India flight getting cancelled recently due to technical snags, after the 12th June accident. Pilots hopefully have stopped accepting the aircraft’s with so many MEL’s each flight. It increases their workload immensely”.

“Everyone knows that the “Red” airline is being dispatched on minimum equipment’s. 90+ MEL’s every flight. DGCA should step in and stop this,” added the content creator, referring to the Minimum Equipment List, which is “a categorised list of on-board systems, instruments and equipment that may be inoperative for flight in a specified aircraft model”.

 

On Tuesday, Gaurav had posted a video defending the pilots involved in the Air India Flight 171, which crashed in Ahmedabad. He said that it is easier for airlines to claim insurance if they pin the blame on the pilots, who aren’t there to defend themselves, stressing the pressure that airlines put on pilots in India.

Air India flights get cancelled

In the aftermath of the devastating Ahmedabad plane crash, Air India has experienced a series of flight disruptions, with multiple flights being diverted or cancelled. On Monday alone, at least three 787 Dreamliners operated by major airlines -- British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air India -- made emergency returns to their departure airports shortly after takeoff.

On June 12, a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into a hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 passengers and crew.

On Tuesday, flight AI 143 from Delhi to Paris was cancelled after the pre-flight checks revealed certain issues in the aircraft. An Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight (AI 159) was cancelled due to the unavailability of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.