Pilots’ body seeks Dreamliner audit; Air India denies safety issues

Days after two incidents involving Air India's Boeing Dreamliner planes in one week, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Friday (October 10) urged the Civil Aviation Ministry to ground the airline's entire fleet of Dreamliners and conduct a thorough check of their electrical systems. The pilot’s body also urged the ministry to order a DGCA special audit of Air India.

FIP said on October 9, Air India flight AI154 from Vienna to Delhi diverted to Dubai due to major technical issues and on October 4, Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed on AI117 while landing at the Birmingham airport from Amritsar. Both flights were operated with Boeing 787 planes, also known as Dreamliners.

Thorough check of Dreamliners’ electrical systems

FIP President Captain C S Randhawa, in a letter to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, stated that on June 16, the group had been demanding that all Boeing 787s in the country be checked thoroughly for the electrical systems.

The pilot's body further demanded that all Dreamliners in the country should be grounded, and their electrical systems and other repetitive snags be thoroughly checked.

"There is a need to check the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) releases and repetitive snags on the aircraft, especially B-787s," FIP said as it sought a special audit of Air India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet, and IndiGo operates these planes leased from Norse Atlantic.

Also Read: Air India Colombo–Chennai flight suffers bird hit, grounded

‘Autopilot failed in flight AI154’

The FIP further stated that while operating flight AI154, the plane experienced major technical issues when the autopilot system suddenly failed, triggering a series of malfunctions.

"The aircraft experienced failures across critical systems, which included Autopilots, ILS (Instrument Landing System), Flight Directors (FDs) and Flight Control System Degradation with no Autoland capability. The pilots could not engage the autopilots due to electrical malfunctions; thus, pilots were constrained to fly manually at night and divert to Dubai,” stated FIP.

"Moreover, the FDs were not available with degraded flight control systems," FIP, which represents around 5,000 pilots,” it added.

FIP also said the aircraft landed safely at Dubai and complimented the skill of the pilots for flying the plane with limited automation/systems.

However, later in the day, Air India issued two statements regarding the two incidents involving flight AI154 and AI117.

Also Read: After latest Air India scare, pilots urge DGCA to check all Boeing 787 planes

‘RAT deployment uncommented’, says Air India

Regarding the sudden deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) during the final approach of flight 117 on October 4, Air India stated that it was neither due to a system fault nor pilot action and described the RAT deployment as “uncommented.”

“On 4 October 2025, the operating crew of flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham detected the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) of the aircraft during its final approach. The crew had found all electrical and hydraulic parameters to be normal, and the aircraft landed safely at Birmingham Airport. At no point during the flight was there any loss of power or control systems. The aircraft was subsequently grounded for further inspections. Based on the conclusions from our preliminary investigations, the deployment of the RAT was neither due to a system fault nor pilot action. The deployment of the RAT was ‘uncommanded’, consistent with similar occurrences with other airlines in the past, as reported by Boeing,” stated an Air India spokesperson.

“Air India had notified the Indian aviation regulator, DGCA, about the occurrence and has submitted the preliminary report to the regulator in accordance with the prescribed guidelines. The aircraft was subsequently cleared for service, and it operated from Birmingham to Delhi on 5 October,” added the spokesperson.

Also Read: Fresh scare on Air India Boeing 787 as emergency system deploys during landing

Denies electrical failure in flight AI154

As for the incident involving flight AI154 on October 9, Air India said that the flight was diverted due to a technical issue, adding that there was no electrical failure in the aircraft.

“AI154 operating from Vienna to Delhi on 09 October was diverted to Dubai due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely at Dubai and underwent necessary checks. All passengers were kept informed of the delay, provided refreshments and the flight, operated by the same aircraft, departed Dubai at 08:45 hrs IST and landed in Delhi at 12:19 hrs IST...Air India categorically denies any assertion that there was an electrical failure in the said aircraft,” stated an Air India spokesperson.

(With agency inputs)