After latest Air India scare, pilots urge DGCA to check all Boeing 787 planes
Federation of Indian Pilots seeks thorough check of planes after RAT deployed on Amritsar-Birmingham flight due to BPCU fault; DGCA to probe incident
After a fresh scare on board a Boeing 787 plane operated by Air India, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged aviation safety regulator DGCA to thoroughly check and investigate the electrical system of all Boeing 787 aircraft in the country.
The pilots’ body wrote a letter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Sunday (October 5), a day after the emergency turbine power of the Air India plane from Amritsar to Birmingham was unexpectedly deployed when it was about to land in the UK city.
Later in the evening, news agency PTI reported that the DGCA will carry out a detailed probe into the incident.
It may be recalled that the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 was also a Boeing 787 aircraft.
Also read: Fresh scare on Air India Boeing 787 as emergency system deploys during landing
Bus Power Control Unit fault
According to Air India, the operating crew of its Amritsar-Birmingham flight reported that the Boeing 787’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT) unexpectedly deployed during the final approach on October 4, but the aircraft landed safely.
FIP President GS Randhawa said in the letter to DGCA that the Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) had picked up a fault of Bus Power Control Unit (BPCU) in the plane, which may have caused the auto deployment of RAT.
“The (Birmingham flight) incident occurred when the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed automatically at 500 ft on approach into Birmingham... the Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) has picked up a fault of the Bus Power Control Unit (BPCU) which may have caused the auto deployment of RAT,” the pilots’ body, which claims to represent over 5,000 cockpit crew members, said in the letter.
BPCU manages an aircraft’s electrical power system.
However, a senior DGCA official told PTI that RAT got deployed during landing of the plane at 400 feet but the pilot did not report any related abnormality. The maintenance actions for uncommanded RAT deployment recommended by Boeing have been carried out and no discrepancy were observed, the official told PTI and added that the aircraft was being released for service.
Also read: Ahmedabad Air India crash victim’s son sues Boeing in US court
Why RAT deploys
RAT deploys automatically in the eventuality of a dual engine failure or total electronic or hydraulic failure. It uses wind speed to generate emergency power.
Engine or hydraulic/electrical failure or software malfunction are being cited as among the several probable causes of the AI 171 crash in June.
“There have been numerous incidents on B-787 aircraft. We have strongly taken up with the Civil Aviation Ministry and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to thoroughly check the electrical system of all B-787 aircraft in the country.
“After the Air India-171 crash, the FIP has been constantly insisting on thorough check up of the electrical system of B-787 aircraft in the country. Subsequent to the crash, DGCA checked only the fuel control switches of B-787 in Air India (fleet),” FIP said in the letter.
Also read: Exclusive | Do Lion Air, Air India 171 crashes flag Boeing design flaw?
No answers to Ahmedabad crash
Flight AI 171, en route to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex soon after take-off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 260 people, including 241 persons on board the plane.
The AAIB, which is probing the crash, said in its preliminary report in July that the engine fuel control switches of the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 plane were cut off seconds after lift-off, with one of the pilots asking the other why he did so, and the latter responding that he did not.
“It is pertinent to note that the incident in another pointer towards the Air India crash of B-787 aircraft. Thus, in the interest of air safety, FIP insists that DGCA must thoroughly check and investigate the electrical system of B-787 aircraft in the country,” the Federation said in the letter.
US aircraft maker Boeing has maintained a stoic silence on the Ahmedabad crash — one of the deadliest in India in the last three decades.
(With agency inputs)