Forced landings: Two in a day, for Air India

13 Apr 2007

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New Delhi: Two incidents, related to technical faults and forced landings, gave passengers, and national carrier Air-India, a bad scare on Monday. The first incident had Air India's Shanghai-Bangkok-Delhi-Mumbai flight (AI 349) making a forced landing at New Delhi's IGI airport, after reporting problems with the front landing gear. Soon thereafter, Air India's Dubai-Delhi flight (AI 736) came in with unexplained problems.

After AI 349 from Shanghai saw the passengers being evacuated safely, the aircraft collapsed on the runway on its nose, much like a beached whale.

Bland assurances from Air India spokespersons that such incidents were a industrywide phenomena notwithstanding, a collapsed aircraft at one of the busiest airports of the country raised issues of safety, airline competency as well as the commitment of its employees towards their work - more so, being one of the best paid segments of the Indian working class airline employees have a way of arm twisting their way to the best and safest deal that they can possibly wrangle for themselves.

In late February, a government report spoke of serial mechanical failures in the airline's ageing fleet, which led to a string of incidents that involved both the national carriers, Air India and Indian. The failures in various aircraft systems, including landing gear, as in yesterday's incident at Delhi, were mostly hydraulic in nature.

Though the civil aviation ministry report acknowledged that hydraulic failures and leaks in Airbus aircraft, operated by Indian and Air India, were a known problem area and so a industry phenomena, some members of the panel refused to draw solace from this comforting assessment and pointed fingers at the poor repairs and maintenance record of the airlines. They point out that older Boeing and Airbus aircraft have been flying with a much safer record around the world and alleged that spares were often bought from sources other than original manufacturers. They also point out that there was a shortage of competent engineers.

The ministry report had identified 10 "problem areas" and said that additional inspections and modifications have been introduced. It said that Airbus had suggested new installation procedures, "which are proposed to be introduced."

The report also said that some of the problems had been sorted out, but a "few areas still need improvements which have been taken up with the manufacturer/vendor."

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