'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The truth about what triggered the fatal crash of the Dreamliner should not only help bring the guilty to book, but also outline the future course of action in aviation safety, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued four show cause notices to Air India for various violations related to cabin crew rest and duty norms, cabin crew training rules and operational procedures, a month after the airline made certain voluntary disclosures to the watchdog.
The trial of Abu Jundal, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is set to resume after the Bombay High Court overturned a lower court order requiring authorities to hand over confidential documents to the accused.
'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism.'
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
One of the major concerns highlighted by the DGCA was about the fact that not all staff had completed mandatory fatigue management training.
Air India reiterated that its priority remains extending assistance to the families.
Helicopters are being used to airlift people stranded in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, following flash floods and landslides. Rescue operations are ongoing, with hundreds evacuated and efforts underway to restore connectivity and power.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation has revised its operational guidelines for operators during adverse weather conditions, emphasising that safety should take precedence over 'schedule adherence' and encouraged pilots to divert flights in unpredictable conditions.
'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.'
HAL executives said deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A to the IAF would begin within this year, but only after the successful completion of the weapons-firing trials currently underway.
Delhi is preparing for its first artificial rain through cloud seeding to combat air pollution. A trial run was successful, and the first rainfall is expected on October 29 if weather conditions are favorable.
'The AAIB will collect every single retrievable piece of the aircraft and transport it to a secure location -- usually a large hangar capable of housing a Boeing 787.' 'The entire aircraft will be laid out, each part marked and tagged, and practically rebuilt like a jigsaw puzzle.'
Amid mounting safety concerns and the cancellation of at least 66 flights that were to be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, DGCA officials held a detailed review meeting with top Air India and Air India Express executives.
In modern aircraft, there are cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder.
Both the CVRs and FDRs were recovered within a week after the accident. One was retrieved from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16.
Government is considering amending Civil Aviation rules to make it mandatory to have Category II instrument landing system at all airports across the country to reduce fog-related problems.
The recent helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in which seven lives were lost, has proven yet again that aviation regulatory authorities have not learnt lessons from similar air mishaps in the challenging Kedar valley and have done little to improve flying conditions.
"Decoding of the black box is going to give in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said at a briefing in the national capital.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said surveillance conducted at major airports revealed several defects in the aviation ecosystem, including multiple cases wherein the defects reappeared on aircraft and centre line marking faded on runway.
The three officials include a divisional vice president of the airline, as per the DGCA order.
Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Thursday said the number of planes with domestic airlines will increase to 1,400 in the next five years as he highlighted the growth potential of the country's aviation space. Currently, the fleet is around 800 aircraft and leading carriers IndiGo and Air India have placed significant plane orders.
The US federal agency, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), responsible for the investigation of aviation accidents and significant transportation events in the country, on Friday (local time) issued a strong rebuke of recent media coverage made over the preliminary investigative report on the aftermath of the ill-fated Air India 171 crash that claimed 260 lives in Gujarat's Ahmedabad last month.
The DGCA has issued four showcause notices to Air India over repeated violations of cabin crew deployment, training lapses, rest regulations, and operational oversight that compromise flight safety.
The specific reasons for the crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick will be known only after the completion of the detailed probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The octogenarian was asked to wait due to heavy demand for wheelchair.
A few weeks back, hundreds of flights had received bomb threat calls that later turned out to be hoaxes.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
This is the third enforcement action against a Tata Group airline in over a month.
Authorities continue evacuating stranded pilgrims from areas around Dharali village in Uttarkashi, focusing on air rescue and relief operations due to damaged roads. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is overseeing the efforts, with central government support.
A preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad reveals that both fuel switches were cut off before the crash, followed by pilot confusion. The report also indicates that fuel samples were satisfactory and no immediate action is recommended for Boeing 787-8 operators.
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
'The ministry may like to consider setting up an ombudsman similar to electricity ombudsman and insurance ombudsman, to ensure a time-bound resolution of consumer issues within the airline sector.'
When passengers book a flight, they could receive a secure 'journey pass' on their phone that stores all relevant travel information including passport data, seat assignment.
'CORSIA has set impossible targets. It tries to limit countries to the emission levels of the number of aircraft that they had in 2020. That has to be opposed.'
The DGCA has issued multiple fines and warnings to Air India over the past three years, flagging serious concerns in flight operations, cockpit discipline, and internal accountability.
'... when the process isn't transparent, people will naturally raise questions. 'The AAIB's own press release says they had the black boxes by June 16.' 'Why wasn't decoding initiated until the 24th? What were they waiting for?'
Against the backdrop of a significant number of flights getting delayed and cancelled and passengers facing tough times, the regulator has come out with a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
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