Air India Flight: On June 14, just two days after the shocking flight crash in Ahmedabad, an Air India plane from Delhi airport to Vienna reportedly descended 900 feet due to some technical fault mid-air, a report by News18 said. The DGCA ordered a probe into the matter.
Citing sources, News18 reported that a Vienna-bound Air India flight AI 187 reportedly suffered a technical snag probably due to bad weather conditions, causing a 900 feet drop. The flight that took off on June 14 at 2:56 am, underwent a strong storm and a bad weather situation in Delhi. Within a few minutes of take-off, the aircraft dropped to about 900 feet. The incident once again highlights the safety concerns.
AAIB Also Probing Sabotage Angle: Minister
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating all possibilities in the Air India AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, including any sabotage, and the report is expected in three months. Speaking to NDTV at the Pune chapter of the 'Emerging Business Conclave', Mohol said the AAIB was conducting a full inquiry.
“It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. CCTV footage is being reviewed, and several agencies are involved,” he was quoted as saying.
The minister called the crash a "rare case”, which killed more than 270 people. "It has never happened that both engines have shut down together," he said, referring to claims by veteran pilots and experts that a dual engine failure may have led to the crash.
The black box of flight AI 171 has been recovered and remains in the custody of the AAIB and the investigation would be conducted entirely within the country, according to Mohol.
“These devices will not be sent outside the country for a thorough assessment,” he was quoted as saying.
Last week, the Centre said the analysis of the data from Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) -- recovered from the crash site of Air India Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad -- is currently underway in full compliance.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, all actions so far related to Black Boxes have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time-bound manner. Following the unfortunate accident involving Air India Flight AI-171 on June 12, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multi-disciplinary team on June 13, in line with prescribed norms.
(With IANS inputs)