NEW DELHI: An Air India Boeing Dreamliner flight from Amritsar to Birmingham made a safe landing after suffering a major scare just before reaching its destination, when its emergency device, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), was auto-activated mid-air shortly before landing.
Air India has since cancelled the return leg of the flight, which was to reach Amritsar via Delhi. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident.
The RAT is automatically deployed whenever there is an electrical or hydraulic power failure, or if both engines of an aircraft fail. It is a wind-driven turbine that generates power using the aircraft’s speed, providing enough energy to ensure a safe landing. In the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12, which claimed 260 lives, the RAT got deployed before the crash.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft took off from Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport on Saturday at 12.58 pm. The RAT was activated at 500 feet, just minutes before landing, and was detected by the pilots.
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said, “The operating crew of flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham on October 4 detected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) of the aircraft during its final approach. All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal, and the aircraft performed a safe landing at Birmingham. The aircraft has been grounded for further checks, and consequently, AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate the guests. At Air India, the safety of passengers and crew remains our top priority.”
In the aftermath of the incident, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has demanded that the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the DGCA conduct a thorough probe into the electrical systems and air-conditioning units of all Boeing aircraft operating in India.
In a statement, the FIP said that after the AI-171 crash, the DGCA had only checked the fuel control switches of Air India’s B-787 fleet.
Referring to the latest incident, it added: “The incident occurred when the RAT deployed automatically at 500 ft on approach into Birmingham. In today’s incident, the Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) system detected a fault in the Bus Power Control Unit, which may have caused the auto-deployment of the RAT. All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal, and the aircraft performed a safe landing at Birmingham. The aircraft has been grounded at BHX.”
The FIP further stated, “Since the time the B-787 has been flying, there have been numerous incidents involving the aircraft. We have strongly taken up with MoCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) the need to thoroughly inspect the electrical systems of all B-787 aircraft in the country. In the interest of air safety, the FIP insists that the DGCA must thoroughly check and investigate the electrical systems of all B-787 aircraft operating in India.”