Air India ordered to amp up safety checks on Boeing 787 fleet after Ahmedabad tragedy; no grounding yet

Air India ordered to amp up safety checks on Boeing 787 fleet after Ahmedabad tragedy

In the wake of the AI-171 Ahmedabad plane crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday directed intensified safety inspections of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet.

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad.(AFP)

The DGCA also cleared that there is no grounding yet of the Boeing 787 fleet.

India's aviation regulator directed Air India to perform checks on fuel parameter monitoring and associated system checks, in a development that comes in the aftermath of the fatal Ahmedabad plane crash that killed all, except one, people onboard on Thursday. Follow Ahmedabad plane crash news live updates

According to the DGCA notification, with the subject ‘Enhanced Safety Inspection on Boeing 787-8/9 fleet of M/s Air India’, the airliner has been directed to carry out following additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect in coordination with the concerned regional DGCA offices:

1. One time check before departure of flight from India w.e. 15.06.2025. (00:00)Hrs onwards.

a) Inspection of Fuel Parameter Monitoring and associated system checks.

b) Inspection of Cabin air compressor and associated systems.

c) Electronic Engine Control- System Test.

d) Engine Fuel Driven Actuator-Operational Test and oil system check.

e) Serviceability check of Hydraulic system.

f) Review of Take-off parameters.

2. 'Flight Control Inspection' to be introduced in transit inspection till further notice.

3. Power assurance checks to be carried out within two weeks.

4. Closure of maintenance action based upon the review of repetitive snags during the last 15 days on B787-8/9 aircraft at the earliest.

The report of the above checks is to be submitted to DGCA for review.

The instructions come a day after a Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner, bound for London from Ahmedabad, crashed into a locality shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport of the Gujarat city.

The aircraft was carrying 242 people, including crew members.

The plane crash killed 241 of the 242 people onboard the aircraft, while one passenger managed to escape miraculously and is admitted in a hospital with injuries.