India Govt Orders Enhanced Surveillance for Boeing 787 Fleet After Air India Flight AI171 Crash

In the wake of the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 on Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated an extensive inspection of all Boeing 787 aircraft in India's fleet.

Civil Aviation Ministry's Statement

Speaking at a press meet on Saturday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu stated, "India maintains stringent aviation safety standards. However, given this incident, we have directed the DGCA to conduct enhanced surveillance of the Boeing 787 series. Currently, there are 34 such aircraft in our fleet, of which eight have already been inspected. The remaining will be examined with immediate urgency."

The London-bound Air India plane carrying 230 passengers and 12 members from the crew crashed in a crowded residential area minutes after taking off.

Out of 242 passengers, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The London-bound flight was operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANB).

Reflecting on the tragedy, the Minister expressed his condolences, saying, "The past two days have been immensely difficult, particularly for the Ministry and the nation. The accident near Ahmedabad airport has left us all in shock. My deepest sympathies are with the families who lost their loved ones-I understand their pain, having lost my own father in a road accident.

Upon hearing the news, I immediately rushed to the site to assess the situation and ensure all necessary support was provided. The Gujarat government also acted swiftly, deploying rescue teams without delay."

Secretary's Comment

Talking about the incident, Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, "The plane took off at 1:39 pm and within a few seconds, after reaching a height of about 650 feet, it started sinking, i.e., it started losing height. At 1:39 pm, the pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a May Day, i.e., full emergency.

According to ATC, when it tried to contact the plane, it did not receive any response. Exactly after 1 minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport. The captain of the plane was Sumit Sabharwal and the first officer was Clive Sundar."

He noted that the plane had completed Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector without any accident.

According to a report in NDTV, the Union government is considering whether to ground the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 fleet.