Air India, under intense scrutiny following last Thursday’s crash of its AI171 flight near Ahmedabad that killed 241 persons on board and more than 30 on the ground, has now been warned by India’s aviation regulator about breaching safety rules with its Airbus fleet.
In an exclusive report, Reuters said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted spot checks in May on three Air India Airbus planes and found they were operated despite mandatory inspections being overdue on the “critical emergency equipment” of escape slides.
The wire agency was privy to warning notices and an investigation report, but added that these were not related to last week’s crash.
Regulator finds Air India safety lapses
In one case, the DGCA found that the inspection of an Airbus A320 jet was delayed by more than a month before being carried out on May 15. However, AirNav Radar data show that the plane flew to international destinations such as Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah during this period of delay.
An Airbus A319 used on domestic routes was nearly three months late with the checks, while a third showed an inspection was two days late.
In its report, the DGCA said: “The above cases indicate that aircraft were operated with expired or unverified emergency equipment, which is a violation of standard airworthiness and safety requirements. Air India failed to submit timely compliance responses to deficiencies raised by the DGCA, further evidencing weak procedural control and oversight.”
Air India said in a statement that it was “accelerating” verification of all maintenance records, including dates of the escape slides, and would complete the process in the coming days.
The DGCA also said in the report that several Air India aircraft had outdated registration paperwork. The airline told Reuters that only one aircraft had outdated papers, and that it did not impact safety.
“Despite prior notifications and identified deficiencies, the organisation’s internal quality and planning departments failed to implement effective corrective action, indicating systemic control failure,” the DGCA report added.
India’s junior aviation minister told parliament in February that authorities had warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Around half of them – 12 – involved Air India and Air India Express. The biggest fine issued by the DGCA was US$127,000 to Air India for “insufficient oxygen on board” during a flight to San Francisco.
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