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.
In 14 days, more than 350 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media.
Ahead of two crucial audits, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has proposed to allow deputy director generals (DGs) and officers of Indian Air Force (IAF) to apply for the post of chief of India's aviation regulator. The current head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Arun Kumar, has been promoted as secretary and is expected to move out some time soon. DGCA has four Deputy DGs with experience in different fields of aviation.
'They will cover up the failures of all the others.'
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, the debris, including the ill-fated aircraft's tail fin, is still lying at the site as investigators looked for clues to establish the exact cause behind the accident, said officials on Thursday.
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.
Kumar is an IAS officer of 1989 batch of Haryana cadre.
Though NOC was issued by the Ministry last week, this was the first formal statement by the AirAsia CEO on microblogging site Twitter.
The Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified person after three airlines received bomb threats on their X handle, an official said on Tuesday.
The chartered flight, operated by a private firm, carrying Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends returned to Pune airport between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday, abruptly cutting short a trip to the Thailand capital which was not disclosed to the former minister, who is leader of the ruling Shiv Sena, and his family.
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.
Protocols for the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), convened in the event of a bomb threat call to an aircraft or airport, have been tweaked to better tackle the spate of the ongoing 'random' Internet-based threats being made to various Indian airlines, official sources said Tuesday.
In a bid to bring down the cost of air operations, Aviation and Petroleum ministries will meet FM to get ATF notified as 'declared good'.
The prevalent practice is that airlines have to pay between Rs 4,000 and Rs 4,500 per filled seat as departure tax.
The civil aviation ministry is open to the idea of raising the foreign direct investment level from the present 40 per cent to 49 per cent, even as there are indications that a decision on the issue could be taken in the Union Budget.
'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.'
The Centre has appointed senior IAS officers Vumlunmang Vualnam and Neeraj Mittal as new secretaries in the ministry of civil aviation and the department of telecommunications respectively in a major secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, a government order stated.
'When I went and saw, there was smoke everywhere. There was fire all around'
Nestled among 108 scenic hillocks, the 500 metre Mini Great Wall in Shailung, Nepal offers breathtaking views and a peaceful escape at 3,200 metres above sea level.
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, investigators on Thursday continued to sift for clues to ascertain the cause, while the government said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will decide where to decode the black box of the ill-fated Dreamliner.
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The ministry of civil aviation has disagreed with a proposal of the Prime Minister's Office to explore raising the cap on the number of weekly flights from Qatar in exchange for discounts on additional supplies of liquefied natural gas from there.
'... 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?'
'Delhi airport handles 1,450 aircraft movements per day. Of these, 114 daily movements will be cancelled during the runway upgrade.'
Some pro-Kashmir resistance handles on social media have claimed that the citizens who were injured in the Pahalgam terrorist attacks were not 'ordinary', but connected with internal security and counter-intelligence agencies like the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
Pseudonymous or anonymous nature of the social media handle, analysis of the geopolitical situation and presence of VIPs onboard are some of the new criteria that agencies will keep in mind while considering the seriousness of a bomb threat made to Indian airlines.
The Delhi airport, the country's busiest airport, on Friday early morning witnessed the collapse of a roof at Terminal 1 amid heavy rains that killed one person, prompting the government to order a detailed probe and an inspection of the structural strength of all airports.
The home ministry on Wednesday dropped domestic air travel from the list of prohibited activities during the ongoing lockdown, paving the way for operations of regular commercial flights. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued the order in this effect in his capacity as chairperson of the national executive committee under the National Disaster Management Act.
The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others.
The national carrier to get lion's share of the Rs 1,978 crore budgetary support demanded by the ministry for 2010-11.
A senior government official confirmed that after a meeting with other stakeholders, the decision has been taken and airlines and airport authorities have been informed about it.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
'The cost of flying to Prayagraj has gone up six times due to the Kumbh Mela.'
Scindia claimed Tharoor is "lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus", and for him "data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as "research".
So far this week, more than 90 flights have received bomb threats and most of them have turned out to be hoaxes.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Vistara to submit a daily report on flight cancellations and delays as the Tata group airline cancelled more than 50 flights for the second straight day on Tuesday amid non-availability of pilots.
"There are approximately 52,042 employees working in the civil aviation sector in the attached/autonomous/public sector organisations under this ministry. There are no such proposals in the above organisations," minister of state (Independent Charge) for civil aviation, Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha.
Taxes on ATF in India are among world's highest, and are seen as key reason for mounting losses of airlines.
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