New Delhi: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has called for the entire Boeing 787 fleet operated by Air India to be grounded.
In a letter to Union minister of Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu, accessed by the Hindustan Times, the pilots’ body has also requested the thorough checking of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes in the country, especially for faults in 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 states.
FIP had earlier written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), urging the aviation safety regulator to conduct a comprehensive inspection and investigation of the electrical systems of all Boeing 787 aircraft operating in India.
On the fateful afternoon of June 12, Air India flight AI-171 took off from Ahmedabad airport and crashed 30 seconds later into a hostel of BJ Medical College, killing all but one of 242 people on board and 19 persons on ground.
It was the first Dreamliner aircraft to meet with an accident since being launched in December 2009, but thereafter multiple complaints and issues were reported about B-787 planes, especially those being operated by Air India.