The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has raised serious concerns over the safety of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, urging the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, K Ram Mohan Naidu, to “ground” all such aircraft immediately.
The letter accessed and reported by Hindustan Times notes that the pilot’s body called for a thorough examination of the Dreamliner’s electrical systems.
“After the crash of AI-171, there have been many failures on the Air India aircraft. The safety of air travel is being compromised by not investigating the causes of failures on B-787s in the country. We once again appeal to the Hon'ble Minister to now ground all the B-787s of Air India and these aircraft be thoroughly checked, especially the Electrical Systems,” the letter stated.
FIP cited a series of worrying incidents
The FIP’s letter referenced two back-to-back technical incidents involving Air India’s Boeing 787s: The first occurred on October 4, when Air India flight AI-117, from Delhi to Birmingham, experienced an unexpected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT)
The second incident took place just a few days later, on October 9, involving flight AI-154 from Vienna to Delhi. The aircraft reportedly suffered multiple technical malfunctions mid-air, forcing the pilots to divert and make an emergency landing in Dubai.
The letter cited by the HT states these were not isolated glitches but part of a pattern of recurring technical issues that demand immediate attention from both the airline and regulators.
Pilots demand accountability
The Federation of Indian Pilots concluded the letter with three requests to Minister Naidu:
“To thoroughly investigate both the recent incidents of AI-117 and AI-154.”
“To ground all Air India B-787 and they be thoroughly checked for their electrical systems and other repetitive snags.”
“To order a Special Audit of Air India by the ‘senior staff’ from the Flight Safety Directorate (FSD), Air Safety and Airworthiness of DGCA,” per the the letter.
