Latest news with #B787
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Time of India
'Sacked for alerting Boeing malfunctions': Air India whistle blowers claim technical glitch flagged a year before Ahmedabad crash
Live Events Air India on maintenance of Boeing aircraft (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Two whistle blowers, senior Air India flight attendants, in a letter have alleged that a technical problem with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was flagged by them to the airline, a year before the deadly Ahmedabad crash that killed 241 of 242 onboard, according to a TOI two attendants have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming they were terminated from service by the airline after they refused to change their statement about a technical problem with a Boeing 787 door last year, as per the per the letter quoted by ToI, the two alleged that the Dreamliner's door had malfunctioned as the slide raft deployed, though the door was opened in the "manual mode". Slide rafts deploy when a door is opened in "armed" or "automatic mode". As per the report, the incident had occurred on May 14, 2024, after the Mumbai-London B787 (VT-ANQ) operating flight AI-129 docked at Heathrow and the passengers disembarked. Accordingly, the pilots and crew gathered at door L4 last year in May. The two flight attendants, responsible for door opening, carried out the checklist to confirm it was in the manual position, said the letter. But the slide raft deployed when the door was incident, they say, was initially corroborated in writing by the pilot and cabin-in-charge. "However, to our utter shock and surprise when we told (the AI management) the truth that the door was in manual position when opened, we were threatened with termination," the letter alleged on Wednesday."We refused to change our statements despite considerable pressure exerted on us by higher authorities," the letter alleged, naming three officials. "However later the commander changed his statement by stating that he was not looking when the door was opened," it letter alleges Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suppressed the May 14, 2024, incident and other similar occurrences involving Dreamliners. The crew claim DGCA launched only an "informal inquiry" despite the gravity of safety issues raised, and no report has been shared also allege key witnesses present during the slide deployment incident were deliberately excluded from the probe. Both crew members have served Air India for over two decades. Their complaint was filed with Central Vigilance Commission last crashed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was "well-maintained" with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025, said Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson on a message to flyers, the Air India chief also said the 15 per cent reduction in Air India's widebody fleet operations for the next few weeks is a temporary move."The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," he said that following the June 12 crash and as directed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airline has been conducting thorough safety inspections on its 33 Boeing 787 far, inspections have been completed on 26 aircraft and these have been cleared for service, he said and added that the remaining aircraft are currently in planned maintenance and will have these additional checks done before being released into service.'Following the review, the DGCA has confirmed that Air India Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards,' he DGCA raised concerns over recent maintenance-related issues at Air India and directed airline to boost inter-department coordination, it said that the surveillance of the airline's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns in the wake of the fatal plane crash in Ahmedabad last week. On June 13, a day after the crash , the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered enhanced surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet, comprising 26 787-8s and seven 787-9s.(with TOI inputs)
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
In email to flyers, Air India CEO lists safety inspections & steps
Mumbai: A week after the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft accident that left 275 people dead, Air India embarked on a confidence-building drive by emailing its passengers and frequent flyers a letter from the airline CEO listing the safety inspections and other measures it has taken. The letter comes in the wake of reduced demand for Air India flight tickets on medium and long haul sectors, as indicated by the drop in the airline's airfares. The airline announced a temporary 15% reduction in its international wide-body flights starting June 20 through to at least mid-July. "This will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues," the airline said. "If your flight is impacted, we will contact you to offer rebooking on another flight at no extra cost, or a full refund," it said, adding that the updated international schedule will be shared in a few days. The airline cited "enhanced safety inspections mandated after the tragic crash" as the reason for the reduction in its flight operations to destinations in the US and Europe, among others. Of the 33 B787 aircraft in its fleet, safety inspections have been completed for 26 and these were cleared for service, it said. "Following the review, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that our Boeing 787 fleet and maintenance processes fully meet safety standards," the letter said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "As a confidence-building measure, we elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks on our Boeing 787 fleet and, as an added measure, our Boeing 777 aircraft, for the time being," it added. The airline added the aircraft which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 was piloted by a commander with more than 10,000 hours of flying experience on wide-body aircraft and a first officer with 3,400 hours, the letter said. "The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," it added.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AI sacked us for reporting Dreamliner door glitch: 2 ex-staffers in letter to PM
Mumbai: Two senior Air India flight attendants have written to PM Modi, claiming they were terminated from service by the airline after they refused to change their statement about a technical problem with a Boeing 787 door last year. They alleged the Dreamliner's door had malfunctioned as the slide raft deployed, though the door was opened in the "manual mode". Slide rafts deploy when a door is opened in "armed" or "automatic mode". The incident, they claimed, occurred on May 14, 2024, after the Mumbai-London B787 (VT-ANQ) operating flight AI-129 docked at Heathrow and the passengers disembarked. The incident, they say, was initially corroborated in writing by the pilot and cabin-in-charge. "However, to our utter shock and surprise when we told (the AI management) the truth that the door was in manual position when opened, we were threatened with termination," the letter alleged on Wednesday. tnn The former senior AI flight attendants wrote to the PM that after refusing to revise their statements on the malfunctioning Dreamliner door, they were served show-cause notices and dismissed within 48 hours—exactly one year before the June 12 Ahmedabad crash which killed 272 people. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 임플란트, 지금 시작하세요 [자세히 보기] 임플란트 더 알아보기 Undo "We refused to change our statements despite considerable pressure exerted on us by higher authorities," the letter alleged, naming three officials. "However later the commander changed his statement by stating that he was not looking when the door was opened," it alleged. At Heathrow, AI crew disembark from a different door. Accordingly, the pilots and crew gathered at door L4 last year in May. The two flight attendants, responsible for door opening, carried out the checklist to confirm it was in the manual position, said the letter. But the slide raft deployed when the door was opened. The letter alleges Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suppressed the May 14, 2024, incident and other similar occurrences involving Dreamliners. The crew claim DGCA launched only an "informal inquiry" despite the gravity of safety issues raised, and no report has been shared since. They also allege key witnesses present during the slide deployment incident were deliberately excluded from the probe. Both crew members have served Air India for over two decades. Their complaint was filed with Central Vigilance Commission last year.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Tata Consumer products keeps its 'antennae up' for strategic buys
Tata Consumer Products was witnessing a significant shift in consumer behaviour and business models as customers were increasingly becoming more health conscious and seeking organic options, P B Balaji, non-executive, non-independent director at the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) unit of the Tata group, told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) here on Wednesday. Balaji chaired the AGM as the group's Chairman N Chandrasekaran was in New Delhi in connection with the relief operations following last week's Air India crash. Talking about the B787 crash in Ahmedabad, Balaji said in his opening address: 'To lose a single person, we know, is a tragedy but for so many deaths to occur at once is incomprehensible. This is one of the darkest days in the Tata group's history. Words are no consolation right now but our thoughts are with the families and the loved ones of the people who died and who were injured in the crash. We are here for them.' 'India remains one of the fastest growing large economies in the world, with GDP (gross domestic product) growth estimated at north of 6 per cent. Against this backdrop, we are witnessing significant shifts in consumer behaviour and business models. Consumers are becoming more health-conscious, seeking better-for-you and organic options. There is a clear premiumisation trend, even in staples,' he said. While talking about acquisitions, Balaji said, " You have your antennas up. If there's something sensible at the right price and it fits in well with our portfolio, we will do that. But rest assured, we have sizable amount of gunpowder with us, and therefore growing organically will be the first focus, and inorganic growth will be more bolt on." Balaji added that distribution was being reshaped by quick commerce (qcom) but physical retail remained deeply relevant. 'At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming every function, from demand forecasting and content generation to inventory optimisation and pricing intelligence. Companies that embed AI deeply into operations will lead the next phase of value creation,' he said, adding: At Tata Consumer, we are leveraging these trends with a bold strategy, disciplined execution, and an ambition to build a future-ready FMCG powerhouse.' Five years ago when the company was formed, Balaji said, it had a largely single-category footprint of tea and coffee. In the five years, it has undergone a significant transformation and today the company was among the fastest-growing F&B (food and beverages) companies in India, operating across multiple categories and brands. He also said that innovation was a critical muscle for an FMCG company, and over the last five years, Tata Consumer had significantly scaled its innovation efforts, launching over 150 products, and its innovation-to-sales ratio had grown from 0.8 per cent in 2019-20 (FY20) to 5.2 per cent in FY25, which was among the best in the industry. 'Digital is no longer a vertical. It is embedded across how we operate, go to market and engage with consumers. We have deployed several high-impact AI use cases across sales, marketing, sourcing, and R&D (research and development),' Balaji said. He also said that the company has continued to strengthen its execution on emerging channels, with ecommerce (ecom) contribution growing over five times, enabled by exponential growth in qcom. 'As we look to the future, we are deepening our focus on quick commerce, pharmacy, and food services as high potential emerging channels,' he told shareholders. 'We see opportunity in creating an FMCG powerhouse and building brands of tomorrow for the modern Indian and global consumer. Our investments in AI, talent, and digital ecosystems will help us operate with greater precision and speed,' he said. Answering shareholders' questions on Starbucks, Balaji said the company was focused on market expansion at this point in time and, therefore, there were many store additions. 'Same store profitability is under control, and most of the losses that you see is because of the expansion that you're seeing in terms of stores that are being put in place,' he added.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
'No major safety concerns', says DGCA on Air India Boeing planes; airline cancels 66 B787 flights after Ahmedabad crash
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said the aviation regulator reviewed the operations of Air India and Air India Express following the recent plane crash in Ahmedabad, and added that the surveillance of the airline's Boeing 787 planes did not reveal any major safety concern. 'Air India B787 aircraft and associated maintenance systems found to be compliant with existing safety standards,' the DGCA said. However, the aviation watchdog said that it has raised concerns over recent maintenance-related issues at Air India and directs the airline to boost inter-department coordination. The DGCA stated that Air India has cancelled 66 flights to be operated with Boeing 787 between June 12 and June 17 after the Ahmedabad tragedy. — The airline has been advised to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations. — Air India and Air India Express have been asked to ensure timely communication with passengers and crew and adopt alternate routing strategies to minimise disruptions. The impact of recent airspace closures, particularly over Iranian airspace, was reviewed. — The regulator recommended the implementation of a more systematic and real-time defect reporting mechanism to ensure that operational and safety-critical departments receive timely updates. This is expected to enhance overall decision-making and reduce downstream disruptions. — The DGCA said that Air India was reminded of its obligations under the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements Section 3 Series M Part IV & V, to inform passengers well in advance regarding delays and cancellations. The regulator also emphasised effective passenger facilitation and timely dissemination of information through all available channels to Air India. — The recent surveillance conducted on Air India's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns, the DGCA confirmed. The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards. — Mandated 'Enhances Safety Inspection' was conducted on the entire Air India B787-8/9 fleet, comprising 33 aircraft, said the DGCA. The aviation watchdog said that of these, 4 B787-8/9 aircraft are currently undergoing major checks at various MRO facilities. As of 3pm on 17 June 2025, a total of 24 aircraft have successfully completed the required check, the DGCA noted. — The DGCA also reviewed recent operational data for Air India's wide-body operations, with specific attention to the Boeing 787 fleet. During the review, it was found that 66 Air India B787 flights had been cancelled between 12 June to 17 June. Further, the airline also cancelled a total of 83 flights in the five days.
