Two Sharp with ET: Air India crash shakes Boeing
In today's episode of Two Sharp, Nisha Poddar breaks down two top stories. An Air India Dreamliner crashed near Ahmedabad, killing 241 the first fatal 787 crash. Boeing shares slid nearly 5%, and the tragedy jolts Air India's revival just as it was taking off.Meanwhile, Israel's 'Rising Lion' strikes killed IRGC chief Hossein Salami and hit nuclear sites in Iran. Oil surged 12% to $78, gold crossed ₹1 lakh, and markets tumbled. Analysts warn of inflation risks if tensions escalate.
Show more
Show less
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
DGCA takes Air India to task over ‘systemic errors'
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered Air India to remove three of its staffers from crucial operational duties and issued a stern warning for 'repeated and serious violations' related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight, with the regulator stating it could suspend the airline's licence in case of future breaches. DGCA takes Air India to task over 'systemic errors' The regulator cited what it said were 'systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability' — a strongly worded rebuke that poses questions about the airline's processes intrinsic to passenger safety. Air India faces intense scrutiny following the June 12 crash of its London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed 241 of 242 people aboard and at least 30 more on the ground. Two more documents seen by HT suggest the regulator was in the midst of further ramping up scrutiny on the airline, including by initiating a compilation of all audits and checks carried out on Air India since 2024. The regulator and Air India did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the order dated June 20 was related to the crash in Ahmedabad this month. At least three experts HT spoke to welcomed the scrutiny and the reviews, but questioned if there was inadequate regulatory oversight before. 'Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,' the DGCA stated in its enforcement order. 'These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses.' The regulator warned that 'any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations detected in any post-audit or inspection, will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable.' In a statement, Air India said it has implemented the DGCA order and 'in the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the IOCC.' 'Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' the airline stated. The regulator separately issued a show-cause notice to the airline, seen by HT, for breaching flight duty time limits of its crew on a London-Bengaluru flight on two occasions. Another document, an internal DGCA email seen by HT, suggested the regulator is putting together a compilation of all inspections and audits conducted on Air India during 2024 and 2025. The email, sent by assistant director Himanshu Srivastava — the same official who signed the enforcement order — requests 'details of all inspections and audits conducted for Air India during the years 2024 and 2025 (till date)' including findings, inspection types, and officer names, with a tight deadline of June 22. The June 20 order directed Air India to immediately remove Choorah Singh, divisional vice president of the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC); Pinky Mittal, chief manager-DOPS, crew scheduling; and Payal Arora, crew scheduling-planning from all roles related to crew scheduling and rostering. The violations stem from incidents that the regulator said occurred during Air India's transition from one system for flight and crew management to another. Specifically, the violations occurred 'during the post-transition review from ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System,' with the regulator noting that the voluntary disclosures by Air India revealed the extent of compliance failures during this technological upgrade. An industry expert, who asked not to be named, said ARMS is a well-known software and is widely used. The DGCA specifically cited three categories of violations: 'unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings,' 'violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms,' and 'systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight.' An Air India official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the order is related to a case of non-compliant crew pairing that occurred in August last year, though the DGCA order suggests the issues are more widespread and ongoing. The 2024 incident involved 'a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer,' which the DGCA described as 'a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications.' The regulator subsequently imposed a ₹ 90 lakh fine on Air India and additional penalties of ₹ 6 lakh and ₹ 3 lakh on the airline's director operations and director training respectively. Safety expert Mohan Ranganathan, said the regulator's 'order and show cause notice seems to be an effort to just show that they are working actively.' Another expert, Mark Martin of Martin Consulting, asked: 'Why is the order for something that happened a year back, coming out now?' Crew scheduling and duty time limitations are fundamental safety measures in aviation, designed to prevent pilot fatigue and ensure only qualified personnel operate aircraft. The regulations require strict adherence to flight duty time limitations (FDTL) and mandate that crew pairings meet specific qualification and recency requirements. 'A crew rostering system is automated. You're not supposed to be partial to one crew over another. You're not supposed to intentionally put one crew member with another. The system needs to randomly roster cabin crew and pilots. All pilots should be given equal hours. All cabin crew should have enough,' Martin said. The 2024 incident, additionally, appears to have involved pilots who were not adequately qualified operating together. Flight 171, carrying 242 passengers and crew, departed Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 PM on June 12 bound for London when the pilot issued a Mayday distress call shortly after takeoff. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area, killing all but one person aboard and at least 30 others on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating the cause of the crash, while authorities have announced plans to survey structures around the airport for potential height violations that could pose safety risks.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
DGCA Asks Air India to Act Against 3 Errant Officials
The civil aviation regulator has asked Air India to remove the head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials from operational roles and initiate disciplinary action against them, citing violation of pilot rest rules. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The civil aviation regulator has asked Air India to remove the head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials from operational roles and initiate disciplinary action against them, citing violation of pilot rest action is not connected to the June 12 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and more than 30 on the its order on Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) warned the Tata Sons-controlled airline that a repeat of such violations could lead to the suspension of its has seen a copy of the order that names operations control centre head Choorah Singh and crew scheduling managers Pinky Mittal and Payal to the DGCA, these officials were involved in multiple lapses, including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of licensing and crew rest rules and systemic failures in is the second time the same officials have been pulled up by the regulator. The DGCA had in February asked Air India to take action against the three after it discovered that a first officer operated a flight without the compulsory training Friday, the regulator also sent a show cause notice to Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson citing the violation and seeking an explanation within seven DGCA said during an audit of the airline, it found that the carrier had operated two flights on the Bengaluru-London route where the pilots exceeded the stipulated duty limit of 10 hours.'Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against these officials without delay, and the outcome of such proceedings shall be reported to this office within 10 days from the date of issue of this letter,' the DGCA said.'The officials are also to be reassigned to non-operational roles,' the regulator said. It barred them from holding any position with direct influence on flight safety and crew India, in a statement, said chief operations officer Basil Kawuk will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre. Kawuk joined Air India last year from Singapore Airlines.'Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' the airline said. It didn't respond to queries on the show cause notice to Wilson. Regulatory scrutiny of Air India's flight operations has increased following the crash. The DGCA is doing enhanced inspections of the Boeing 787 fleet of Air India. The scrutiny is extensive and includes a one-time check of the take-off parameters, to review the last 15 days of technical snags on these aircraft and resolve any recurring airline has said it would reduce flights to Europe and North America by 15% till mid-July to increase contingency aircraft to cater for cancellation, as flights have been delayed due to the DGCA checks as well as the closure of the Iran airspace that is forcing airlines a longer curfew in European airports to reduce noise pollution has further delayed the return leg as pilots also ran out of their permitted duty hours.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Wait for Apache attack helicopters continues
A lingering delay in the supply of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters by Boeing has disrupted the Indian Army's plans to modernise its aviation wing, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday, even as the US aerospace giant stressed it is working towards executing the contract as quickly as possible. Wait for Apache attack helicopters continues The army raised its first Apache squadron at Jodhpur in March 2024 to strengthen its posture against Pakistan, hoping that Boeing would begin deliveries a few weeks thereafter. However, 15 months later, not a single helicopter has been delivered as the US firm grapples with supply chain bottlenecks in the aerospace industry that have slowed down production, the officials said, asking not to be named. The 451 Army Aviation squadron was raised at Nagtalao near Jodhpur on March 15, 2024. The helicopter base is fully ready to operate the Apaches, the officials added. In 2020, the army ordered six Apache attack helicopters from the US for more than ₹ 4,100 crore. 'We remain closely engaged with the US Government and the Indian Army and continue working to execute our contract as swiftly as possible to meet the Indian Army's fleet requirements. For any additional information, we defer to our customer,' a Boeing spokesperson said in response to a query on the delay. Another hurdle to the Apache project was related to India's low ranking in a US government programme that prioritised foreign customers, but that issue was resolved last year, as previously reported by HT. The matter related to India's rating being low on the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System Programme (DPAS) was resolved in April-May 2024. Issues related to DPAS, which covers 22 critical components fitted on the Apaches, including engines, gearboxes and weapons, were resolved after six months of discussions, but supply chain issues linger. The US uses DPAS to prioritise defence-related contracts throughout the US supply chain to support military, homeland security, critical infrastructure and other requirements. It is also used to provide military or critical infrastructure assistance to foreign countries. Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, the Apache can track up to 128 targets per minute and prioritise threats. The missiles equip the gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities. Apart from the Apaches, another crucial project hit by supply chain bottlenecks was the delivery of F404-IN20 engines to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) by US firm GE Aerospace for the ongoing Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) programme. However, GE Aerospace has sorted out the issues and has ramped up production to execute the Indian order for 99 F404-IN20 engines. Boeing started production of Apaches for the Indian Army at its Mesa facility in Arizona in August 2023, targeting deliveries the following year. This was after the joint venture Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) delivered the army's first Apache fuselage from its facility in Hyderabad. The Indian Air Force operates a fleet of 22 such helicopters. The Army Aviation Corps is modernising its capabilities with attack helicopters, Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) and unmanned aerial vehicles. In March, the defence ministry signed two contracts worth ₹ 62,700 crore with HAL for 156 Prachand LCHs for the army and the IAF. The Army Aviation Corps will also begin inducting the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems ordered from the US within four years. Last year, India signed a deal worth $3.5 billion with the US for 31 MQ-9B drones to boost its defence preparedness, primarily with an eye on China. Fifteen drones will be for the navy, and eight each for the army and the IAF.
