'Violation of standard airworthiness': DGCA had flagged Air India violating safety protocols days before plane crash

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had warned Air India of safety protocol violations after three of its Airbus planes continued operations despite pending security checks of emergency systems, Reuters reported citing government documents.
Air India has come under fire after its AI171 aircraft- a Boeing 787 -8 Dreamliner- crashed during takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board in addition to at least 28 people on the ground.
According to the DGCA report cited by Reuters, the aviation watchdog said that it found three Air India Airbus planes being operated despite mandatory inspections being overdue on the "critical emergency equipment" of escape slides, during spot checks last month.
In one case, an Airbus A320 jet was found to have flown to international destinations such as Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah, despite an over one month delay in carrying out inspections.

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