E-Paper
Fire in AI plane part as fliers disembark at IGI
An official said the fault was detected after the aircraft was parked and engines shut down. The airline informed both the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd as per protocols
A small fire was reported in a component of an Air India aircraft shortly after it arrived from Hong Kong at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday, marking the latest in a series of technical incidents affecting the carrier.
Flight AI-315, an Airbus A321-LR operating from Hong Kong to Delhi , experienced an auxiliary power unit fire shortly after landing and parking at the gate. The incident occurred while 158 passengers had begun disembarking, with the APU automatically shutting down as per system design, but not before smoke was seen.
“There was some damage to the aircraft; however, passengers and crew members disembarked normally and are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for further investigations and the regulator has been duly notified,” an Air India spokesperson said.
An official said the fault was detected after the aircraft was parked and engines shut down. The airline informed both the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd as per protocols.
An APU is a small generator that provides electricity and compressed air to aircraft systems when the main engines are shut down.
The incident adds to mounting safety concerns about Air India’s operations. Aviation consultant Mark D Martin said the carrier has reported “multiple Category 1 serious incidents” in the past 15 days, including air turnbacks, a near-fatal runway excursion, and now an APU fire on a brand-new Airbus A321-LR.
“This raises serious concerns about maintenance and operations. The DGCA must place Air India under heightened surveillance with rigorous spot checks on maintenance and continuing airworthiness monitoring,” Martin said. “An APU fire on an aircraft less than two years old, still under manufacturer warranty, is alarming.”
Air India is already under intense scrutiny following the June 12 crash of Flight 171 that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The accident, which marked the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the deadliest on Indian soil in three decades, has raised broader questions about aviation safety oversight in the country.
The fire came a day after two separate Air India incidents on Monday. A Kolkata-bound plane aborted takeoff due to technical issues at Delhi airport, while flight AI-2744 from Kochi to Mumbai veered off the runway during landing in heavy rain at Mumbai airport.
Since mid-June, Air India and subsidiary Air India Express have faced approximately 15 incidents, mostly due to technical glitches. Among these was an Air India Express flight to Thailand that returned to Hyderabad just 16 minutes after take-off on July 19, multiple flight cancellations due to aircraft being declared “unfit to fly,” and technical snags that stranded passengers on Bangkok-Surat and Bangalore-Surat routes on July 14.
The Kochi-Mumbai flight that veered off the runway on July 12 caused extensive engine damage, while other flights faced aborted take-offs and emergency returns to origin airports.
Earlier incidents included a Haneda-Delhi flight diverted to Kolkata due to air conditioning issues, a Mumbai-Chennai flight that returned due to burning smells, and a Mumbai-Bangkok flight that returned to the gate after grass was found stuck in wings.
