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Category: <span>Air India</span>

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Escape Raft Falls Out as Air India Passenger Opens the Door at Moscow Airport

airindia2Last week, the escape raft of an Air India Dreamliner fell out while it was preparing to take off at Moscow airport, Russia.

The plane was being pushed back for takeoff when a passenger opened a door, resulting in the raft falling onto the aerobridge. The passenger later told the airline officials, “I was about to take my seat when I heard a staffer knocking on the window asking to open the door. So I opened the door without realizing that I shouldn’t have opened it.” Another passenger said, “As the door opened, there was a sudden hissing sound, followed by a loud thud, and that was when the flight attendants noticed the passenger’s errant behaviour. It was too late to stop him.”

The incident could cause serious injuries to the on-ground crew and vehicles if the rift had not fallen on the aerobridge.


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Air India Flight Diverted to Kolkata due to Medical Emergency

airindia2A medical emergency prompted Air India flight AI 331 to make an unscheduled landing in Kolkata, India, on November 5.

The flight was heading from Bangkok, Thailand, to Mumbai, India, when the pilot informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) that a passenger had become seriously ill and sought permission for an emergency landing.

The emergency medical services were put on standby at the airport, however, after some time, the pilot again informed that the passenger’s condition was quickly deteriorating and immediate medical advice was needed. A team of doctors was then taken to the ATC tower where they advised the pilot on the best possible emergency treatment which could be given to the patient onboard.

The flight, carrying 244 passengers, safely landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at around 10 p.m.

The sick passenger, identified as J Babariya, 58, of Gujarat, was immediately shifted to a local hospital where he later died.

The flight resumed its journey after some time.


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Air India Flight Lands in Emergency at Toronto

airindiaAir India flight 126 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Toronto Pearson Airport, Canada, at around 0700 hours IST on September 7.

The Chicago-Delhi-Hyderabad flight was diverted after the pilot suspected oil leakage in one of the 2 engines of the Boeing 777 ER aircraft.

The plane landed safely after shedding extra fuel and none of the 342 passengers aboard was hurt.

Ground engineers at Toronto Pearson Airport were inspecting the aircraft for determining source of leakage.


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Engine Failure Prompts Air India Flight to Make Emergency Landing

airindia2Air India flight AI-019, form Delhi to Ahmedabad, landed in emergency at Sanganer Airport, Jaipur, India, on August 22, after its left engine failed.

According to an ATC official, “The pilot informed Jaipur air traffic controller (ATC) about some technical problem in the aircraft after which it was diverted.” One of the passengers said, “We got message from the captain that the left engine has failed and the plane will land at Jaipur.”

The Airbus-321 safely touched the runway at 7:25 a.m. None of the 104 people aboard reported any injuries.

The aircraft was grounded for examination and repair.


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Air India Flight Returns to Mumbai Airport for Emergency Landing

airindia2Air India flight AI 965, heading to Jeddah via Hyderabad, returned to Mumbai airport, India, for emergency landing at 5:50 p.m. on August 15.

Reportedly some technical fault was discovered in the aircraft, due to which the pilots decided to return.

The aircraft, with 300 passengers on board, landed safely at Terminal 2 of the airport, after remaining in the air for 45 minutes.

The passengers were flown to their scheduled destination through an alternate aircraft at 9:22 p.m.

Air India Emergency Bird Strike in Newark NJ

duck77An Air India Boeing 777 en route from Newark to Mumbai had 292 passengers and 21 crew aboard when it took off at 4:36 in the afternoon. Witnesses saw flames shooting from the left engine when flight 144 took off.

Pilots reported problems with the left engine, and twenty-two minutes after taking off, returned to land in Newark.

The landing must have been pretty hard, because tires were blown. The airport’s New Jersey spokeswoman Erica Dumas described it as a “rough landing.” Also, the left engine problems were attributed to a bird strike.

Passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations while they rebooked.

*No ducks were injured in the photoshopping of this B777 windowseat snapshot.


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Kochi-Delhi Flight Lands in Emergency at Bangalore

airindia2A New Delhi-bound Air India Flight from Kochi had to divert and make an emergency landing at Bangalore airport on the night of June 30.

The incident happened after a female passenger sent an SMS to her husband after checking in, saying that she had seen high security at the airport and there might be a bomb. The husband immediately contacted the Kochi airport authorities and reported that his wife had sent an SMS that a bomb had been planted on the flight. The authorities informed the pilot who diverted the flight AI-047 towards Bangalore and landed in emergency.

The plane landed safely and everyone aboard remained unhurt.

Authorities said that a case may be registered against the woman and her husband.


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Air India Flight 560 Makes Emergency Landing at Delhi

airindia2
A Hyderabad-bound Air India flight made an emergency landing immediately after take-off at Delhi airport on April 12.

The decision to land was made after some technical problems in the plane were discovered. The 131 passengers of the flight 560 faced some tense moments till landing safely. They later resumed their journey on another aircraft.

Also on board was a senior BJP leader, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, who has been aboard nine flights which made emergency landing in the past.


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AI Tires Blown

On Feb 2, Air India Flight AI-191, a Boeing 777-337ER, en route from Ahmedabad to Mumbai blew three tires on landing. The crew was able to taxi to the gate with assistance. No injuries to the 260 passengers resulted from the blown tires, and there were no reports of injuries using the emergency exits.

The AI flight’s eventual destination was the US. Passengers continuing their journey were provided an alternative Boeing 777.

THere’s no indication if the tires blew do to the runway surface, tire quality, a hard landing or other reason. The incident is under investigation.

Wing Damage, low fuel, Fog, Flat tire to Air India

In Jaipur at 9:30 on January 5, 2013, after having to divert due to visibility issues, an Imphal-Delhi Air India flight was out of fuel and made an emergency landing in Jaipur damaging a wing and suffering a flat tire. The video says the wing damage was due to a tree-strike after the tire burst.

The Gauhati to Delhi flight diverted Jaipur due to dense fog but in Jaipur too, the pilot landed in fog and low visibility. 168 passengers and 5 crew were aboard. We have heard no reports of injuries on the Airbus A320-231 #VT-ESH but the damage looks pretty bad, if the twitter post is of the correct incident. (That’s the correct # as far as we can tell.) You can click through our link to the twitter discussion.

Emergency services responded to the scene.

Air India Safety Under Observation


Now that an Air India cabin crew told the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) of Air India safety violations and that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been tolerant and inactive regarding said violations, the ICAO may well take action. Problems were indicated, such as understaffing, inadequate rest areas for crew, lack of implementation of “Flight Duty Rules.”

The letter says:

“We have reported more than 5000 safety violations on long haul destination flights alone, over the past three years. However, as the DGCA has ignored them, we were left with no choice but approach the ICAO.”

A ten member International Civil Aviation Organization team will be in India from August 19 to 24 and a representative of USFAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) will arrive in the county on September 9 as part of an inspection of India’s air safety preparedness.


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Diversion to Nagpur

On May 27 2013, an Air India Flight 452 A321 en route from Visakhapatnam to Delhi was in the air for an hour and a half when alerts indicated engine fluctuations.

Pilots diverted to Nagpur where they made a safe landing at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport at 11:00 a.m.. None of the 174 passengers and crew reported injury.

Passengers were provided alternative flights to Delhi.

Door Locks Out Air India Captain


On May 13/14, 2013 the cockpit door of one of Air India’s planes locked the captain out while he was using the toilet. The co-pilot and trainee pilot had to land the plane in Bhopal for ground maintenance engineers to fix the problem.

On May 13, the flight took off from Delhi for Bangalore.

Air India’s official statement was that the captain couldn’t return to the cockpit because the door was locked and that all efforts to open it, even from inside, failed during Tuesday’s flight from New Delhi to the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

The airline claims that no one was endangered during the “unscheduled landing.” No doubt the passengers watching the pilot attempting–and failing–to open the cockpit door would disagree. Apparently there was some degree of panic among the passengers. This is just one in a long series of air safety issues from Air India.

After the plane landed at 5.55pm, ground maintenance engineers did fix the door. The flight continued to Bangalore at 8.45 pm, and made a safe landing at at 8.45 pm.

Emergency landings in Bhubaneshwar


On May 12, 2013, during turbulent weather, three flights made emergency landings at Biju Patnaik Airport.

Two Indigo flights from Raipur to Kolkata and Bangalore to Kolkata made emergency landings, as well as an Air India flight from Agartala to Kolkata.

No serious injuries were sustained, but several crew members and passengers were affected by turbulence.


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Air India Boeing Strikes Jet Blue

At 6:15 near terminal floor an Air India Boeing had landed at Kennedy Airport and was en route to the gate when it struck a Jet blue Airbus with 140 passengers aboard. The plane was damaged in the tail but no passengers were injured. They were transferred to another flight.

There were no injuries on the Boeing either.

See Video


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Air India Emergency Diversion to Kozhikode

What: Air India Airbus A321 en route from Kozhikode in Kerala to Sharjah
Where: Kozhikode
Who: 168 passengers
Why: The pilot of an Air India flight alerted Kozhikode Air traffic control that there was a problem with the plane, and diverted back to Kozhikode shortly after takeoff.

The air conditioning inside the plane was shut down, and there were sparks noted from one of the engines. Whether or not the cause of the engine sparking was a bird strike has not been confirmed.

According to passengers, the plane “started vibrating as soon as it took off from the runway.”

Passengers also said they were not provided a hotel, but promised a flight at 12 pm, then at 4:40 a.m, and finally were provided an actual flight at 5:40 a.m.


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Air India Flight Makes Emergency Landing

What: Air India Boeing 747 en route from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Where: NSC Bose International Airport
When: 10:45 pm
Who: 400 aboard
Why: The flight was en route from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when a fire alarm went off, due, apparently, to a technical issue.

The pilots made an emergency landing at NSC Bose International Airport. No injuries were reported.


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Air India takes Dreamliner Delivery

Although the National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations on General Electric GEnx engines, which power the latest generation of Boeing aircraft, on September 18, Air India has flown from Charleston to Frankfort to India with its second Dreamliner.

(See the letter here)

Air India ordered 27 787s six years ago and has only taken possession of two, due to Dreamliners long process from concept to reality. Most recently, at the end of July, a 787 failed during a pre-flight taxi test at Charleston International Airport when the engine’s fan midshaft fractured, then shifted backwards, breaking both turbine blades.

GE’s solution “introduced changes in the production process that address environmentally assisted cracking, including changes to the dry-film coating applied to the mid-shaft, as well as changes to the coating lubricant used when the retaining nut is clamped to the mid-shaft.”


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Air India Turbulence Response under Investigation by Directorate General of Civil Aviation

What: Air India’s A330 en route from Delta to Shanghai
Where: Shanghai
When: July 5, 2012
Who: 60 passengers, 11 crew
Why: After 2 crew and 18 passengers were injured by turbulence, the flight crew Captain S.P. Suri and first officer Captain Rajesh Mulchandani, were suspended.

Rather than diverting to the nearest airport, Kolkata, at the request of the injured, the pilots continued to land in Shanghai. The pilot reported only mild turbulence, and that passengers and the cabin crew were told to belt up.

The severe turbulence which tossed around the plane was not reported. The DGCA has ordered a probe.


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Air India Emergency Landing in Pakistan

What: Air India Airbus A-319 en route from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi
Where: Nawabshah 3:37 a.m.
When: July 9, 2012
Who: 122 passengers and six crew
Why: While en route, the flight developed problems with three hydraulic systems. The crew diverted to Nawabshah Pakistan. According to news reports, “The captain preferred to keep passengers on board.”

Air India is sending a team of eight engineers to Nawabshah to repair the plane and return it.

The shuttle sent to return with the stranded passengers is expected to return by 4 pm.

The DGCA is investigating.

Air India Pilot Lands Safely Minus Nose Wheel


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Frank-Thomas Klütsch

What: Air India Avion de Transport Regional ATR-42-300 en route from Silchar to Guwahati
Where: Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoli International Airport in Guwahati
When: Jun 10th 2012
Who: 48 passengers, 4 crew
Why: On takeoff from Silchar, the (left) nose wheel detached.

The crew was en route when the pilot received a message that one of the plane’s nosewheels had been found on the Silchar runway by someone at ATC.

There were five wheels remaining on the plane-one remaining nosewheel, and two pairs of main wheels.

Passengers were alarmed when the crew removed heavy items from the cockpit to shift the center of gravity further back in the plane, and when landing, keep the nose up as long as possible.

The pilot, Captain Urmila Yadav performed a flyby for visual confirmation, circled to burn off fuel and made a safe landing. She and co-pilot Yashu were later commended for her skill by the DGCA. Yadav has 4,000 hours in the cockpit.

Emergency crews were on standby during the landing.

An inquiry into the emergency has been initiated.

In George’s Point of View


Whoever found that fallen nosewheel left on the runway should also be commended. Without that crucial information, the outcome of this incident may have been different.

And while there are many pilots who consider this a “routine” emergency, and the fact that the 4,000 hr pilot is a woman is irrelevant because as long as she is in the Captain seat, she is a pilot first, we do believe in recognition for a job well-done. Good job, Captain Urmila Yadav. Maybe the good captain agrees with us that someone should give maintenance a slap on the wrist.


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Air India Boeing Makes Unscheduled Bucharest Stop


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer JangSu Lee –

What: Air India Boeing 777 en route from Frankfurt to Chicago
Where: Bucharest
When: May 12, 2012 10:25
Who: 303 passengers and 17 crew
Why: The flight was en route over Romania when a door warning went off, alerting the pilot of a potential problem.

One source reported the problem as a door alarm; another source said there was a cargo smoke indication.

Passengers deplaned via stairs as on examination, no indication of fire or heat was found. Passengers were then provided hotel accommodations.

The pilot informed ATC in Bucharest and shortly later made a safe landing. The cargo door was examined but no problems were found. The issue was chalked up to being a false alarm.

The plane awaited takeoff pending an allocated scheduled landing-time in Chicago.


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Airbus Bird Strike Delays Air India Flight


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Nishant Gambhir

What: Air India Airbus A321-200 en route from Kozhikode to Dubai
Where: Kozhikode
When: Apr 30th 2012
Who: 148 passengers and 6 crew
Why: Taking off out of Kozhikode India, the Airbus ingested a bird in the right engine, and bending the blades. Pilots dumped fuel, before making a safe landing back in Kozhikode. A replacement jet was provided.

A second Air India flight made an emergency landing in Kozhikode after suffering an oil leak.


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Another New Air India Plan

Air India owes around Rs.2,000 crore to oil retailers, and faces accumulated losses worth Rs.22,000 crore but is looking at a financial overhaul. Lenders including State Bank of India and 18 other banks will be repaid Rs.10,500 crore in 10-15 years, or through government-guaranteed bonds. The restructured debt is only one part of the improvement; the airline is also being given time to improve operational efficiency. Operational efficiency is expected to rise from 71 percent to 90 percent within two years.

Twenty seven Dreamliners will be inducted into the Air India fleet and 7,000 Air India staff will be transferred to its maintenance, repair and overhaul divisions. 12,000 staff be transferred to transportation services.


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Mumbai Flight lands on One Engine


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vivek Manvi

What: Air India Airbus A319-100 en route from Chennai to Mumbai
Where: Mumbai
When: Mar 19th 2012
Who: 118 aboard
Why: While on approach to Mumbai, the plane developed problems and an engine was shut down.

The Airbus landed safely in Mumbaiwith emergency services on standby. No injuries were reported. No details were provided regarding it the engine locked up, ran hot, leaked or what problem occurred.

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