Faulty aircraft were still flying: details of concern following India crash
“Comprehensive surveillance” by India’s aviation regulator has found “multiple cases of repeated defects” in planes at the country’s airports, the body said.
India’s regulatory body for civil aviation says it has uncovered “multiple cases of repeated defects” in aircraft at major airports in the country, in an inspection carried out in the wake of this month’s deadly Air India crash.
Defects “re-appeared many times”
In a statement on Tuesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it had performed “comprehensive surveillance” of Indian airports, as part of an effort to “strengthen safety measures” in the nation’s aviation sector.
Conducted at night and in the early morning at airports including Delhi and Mumbai, India’s two busiest airports, the probe found numerous instances in which defects “re-appeared many times”, the DGCA said.
This, the body said, is indicative of “ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification action” to ensure the safety of aircraft.
Indeed, the DGCA reported cases of aircraft maintenance technicians incorrectly implementing work orders, and of defects being inadequately logged.
The DGCA did not specify the nature of the defects in question, or the airlines involved.
The regulator also reported issues such as maintenance workers failing to taking proper safety precautions, and airport infrastructure problems including faulty lights and markings on runways and taxiways.
“All the findings observed during the surveillance have been communicated to the concerned operators for taking necessary corrective actions within seven days,” the DGCA said.
Air India crash investigation underway
The release of the body’s findings comes just under two weeks after Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport, in western India, on June 12.
Bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was airborne for less than a minute before rapidly losing altitude and hitting a medical college hostel.
All but one of the 242 people on board were killed. At least 19 people on the ground also died in the accident, local officials said on Tuesday, per the Reuters news agency.
The crash investigation is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with assistance from officials at the U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the U.S.’s National Transportation Safety Board.
According to guidelines set out in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Manual of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, a preliminary report on Flight 171 should be released within 30 days of the crash.
A final report should, “if possible”, be completed within 12 months of the accident, the United Nations agency says.
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