Air India says inspections ongoing for Boeing's Dreamliners; Minister assures no compromise on aviation safety

Aviation minister Naidu also said the recovery of the black box by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and subsequent decoding is going to give an “in-depth insight” into what would have actually happened.

New Delhi: Calling the last two days after Ahmedabad air crash as “extremely difficult”, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday made it clear that there will be no compromise on aviation safety and that Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet are undergoing additional inspection as ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

While the Minister said eight Dreamliners have been checked, Air India in a statement later said it has completed “one-time safety checks” on nine of the Boeing 787 aircraft and are on track to complete this process for the remaining 24 aircraft within the timeline provided by the regulator. It said some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes especially those to airports with operating curfews.

Naidu also said the recovery of the black box by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and subsequent decoding is going to give an “in-depth insight” into what would have actually happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself.

“One important update from the technical investigation which is happening through the AAIB is the recovery of the black box yesterday (Friday) around 5 pm from the site...We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report is going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation,” he told a press conference, the first after the crash. However, the Minister did not take any question.

Air India's Dreamliner aircraft headed to London Gatwick on Thursday crashed into a medical college hostel building within a minute of taking off from Ahmedabad airport, killing all 242 passengers but one on board and several others.

With investigators yet to ascertain the cause of the accident as investigations are underway, Naidu said India has very strict safety standards. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the plane had completed Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector without any accident before the crash on June 12.

"When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 series. DGCA has given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that eight have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done," Naidu said.

Naidu said it is "very heart-wrenching" to see the stories of the people who have lost their lives and the Ministry has instructed Air India to facilitate the process of assisting the families of the passengers in whatever way is required.

He said the DNA testing is also happening on one side so that the bodies can be identified and given to the respective families and the Gujarat government is coordinating that.

"Once the DNA testing is confirmed, the bodies are being given to the respective families and we are hoping that the process also gets finished as soon as possible, but the documentation and the procedure need to be followed. We are ensuring that there is no lapse in the process or the protocol that needs to be followed," he said.

Providing the sequence of events, Sinha said the Ministry received the information about the crash that happened at 1:39 PM. "This plane took off at 1:39 PM and within a few seconds, after reaching a height of about 650 feet, it started sinking, it started losing height. At 1:39 pm, the pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a May Day, which means full emergency. According to ATC, when it tried to contact the plane, it did not receive any response," he said.

"Exactly after one minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport...As far as the entire history of the plane is concerned, before this accident, the plane had completed Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector without any accident. Due to the accident, the runway was closed at 2:30 pm and after completing all the protocols, the runway of Ahmedabad was opened for limited flights from 5 PM," he added.