- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- International experts, Airbus join Air India turbulence probe.
- Focus on hydraulic system faults, black box data analysis.
- DGCA orders special safety inspection for A320 Neo.
Jagran Correspondent, New Delhi: The investigation into the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight turbulence, spearheaded by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), will include teams of international aviation experts, aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis (BEA) for Civil Aviation Safety.
The international agencies and foreign experts will play a technical role in decoding complex data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
The experts have also been inducted to resolve the mystery of aerospace software glitches. During the flight, the Airbus A320 Neo's three hydraulic systems recorded a combined nine fault messages within one minute.
This extraordinary technical situation is being analysed by France's prestigious investigation agency, BEA. A special technical team from aircraft manufacturer Airbus will arrive in India by Wednesday to conduct a thorough examination of the aircraft's on-board data and physical systems.
In the past too, AAIB has taken help from foreign security agencies and aviation boards of the concerned countries in investigating major accidents and technical glitches in Indian airspace or involving Indian airlines.
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360-degree vision being adopted
Strict regulatory and safety measures are being implemented as part of a 360-degree approach. Following the incident, the flight crew underwent mandatory dope and alcohol testing as per standard SOPs. To ensure complete transparency in the process, the pilots were retested, and the final test report is being included in the official records.
On the other hand, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a special safety inspection of the hydraulic and flight control systems of A320 Neo aircraft.
The AAIB investigation team is looking at passenger-recorded videos, cabin crew statements and radar data combined with black box time-sync to pinpoint whether the turbulence or the hydraulic fault message came first, and what impact this situation had on the aircraft's systems.
Cases of earlier international cooperation in Indian aircraft accidents
International agencies have a long history of collaborating in the investigation of aircraft accidents. The Air India Express accident (Kozhikode, 2020) involved the assistance of the US NTSB and Boeing's safety team, which led to stricter landing safety protocols on tabletop runways and major changes in cockpit resource management.
Similarly, the investigation into the Air India Express (Mangaluru accident, 2010), in collaboration with the NTSB and FAA, resulted in the expansion of the runway end safety area and the implementation of stricter pilot fatigue management regulations. The Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (1996), with the assistance of the ICAO and NTSB, led to the mandatory installation of TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) and secondary surveillance radar in India.
History of international cooperation in aircraft accident investigation
The foundation for global cooperation in the investigation of aircraft accidents was laid during the Chicago Conference on 7 December 1944. Subsequently, in 1951, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) officially implemented Annex 13 – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation.
Under this, it was made mandatory that apart from the primary investigation of the accident country, the State of Manufacture (like France's BEA for Airbus and America's NTSB for Boeing) and State of Design would have the legal and technical right to participate in the investigation.
The main objective of this international system is not to assign blame, but to strengthen global aviation safety standards for the future by understanding the exact causes of accidents.