Sometimes it is the man behind the machine who makes mistakes, sometimes it is the machine which does so, and sometimes it is a combination of both and some other factors that leads to an accident, notes Helicopter pilot IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe.
With the Middle East tensions flaring up, Air India has temporarily suspended its Tel Aviv flights and airlines have charted alternative flight paths to avoid the Iranian airspace.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday suspended operations at Redbird Flight Training Academy, one of India's largest flight schools, across all five of its training bases in the country. This action was taken after five accidents involving the institute's planes in the past six months. The DGCA announced it would conduct an audit of the academy's maintenance practices and also proficiency checks of the institute's flight instructors before allowing it to resume operations.
Squadron Leader Kanwal Deep Mehra's daredevilry during the 1971 War brought down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre. But he had to bail out of his plane, was badly injured. Then a fierce band of armed guerillas evacuated him to safety at great risk to their lives.
Indian Navy on Wednesday said its ships and aircraft remain 'mission deployed' for maintaining enhanced surveillance and undertaking maritime security operations.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred 26 Shaurya Chakras (seven posthumous) to personnel of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces and state/Union Territory Police during a defence investiture ceremony.
Sobha Puravankara is yet to explain to the safety lapses found by the DGCA.
Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
The airline has suspended its international operations till Monday.
Many passengers rushed out of an IndiGo aircraft at the Mumbai airport, sat on the tarmac, and some were also seen having food there as soon as their diverted Goa-Delhi flight landed after a long delay on Sunday.
A merchant vessel, with around 20 Indian crew, was hit by a suspected drone about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, Indian military sources and a maritime security agency said.
Helicopters are anticipated to be more in demand compared to fixed-wing aircraft as choppers will help in providing accessibility to rural and remote areas in a shorter time.
The decision comes hours after an A320 neo aircraft of IndiGo suffered engine failure mid-air and made an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport.
As of now, there have been no problems with the aircraft.
In a calibrated operation, the Indian Navy on Saturday 'coerced' 35 Pirates onboard a merchant ship around 1,400 nautical miles from the Indian coast to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members without any injury, officials said.
A MiG-21 Bison of the IAF, piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was downed during a dogfight between India and Pakistan sides on February 27 after the Balakot airstrike
Indian Air Force fighter planes will be on standby to keep a close watch on any suspicious activity in the Delhi sky, including UAVs or drones, as the national capital gets ready to host the G20 summit, a senior official from a department engaged in airport operations said.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
The plane landed after experiencing some engine trouble, sources said, adding the aircraft was badly damaged.
Kuwaiti authorities have identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire incident in a building housing foreign workers in the Gulf Kingdom, a top official said on Thursday.
Insolvency tribunal NCLT on Wednesday rejected Go First lessors' petitions to take back the planes leased to the grounded airline, and said the aircraft are available for resumption of operations since aviation regulator DGCA has not deregistered them. A two-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) held that physical possession of the aircraft/engines would be "indisputably" with Go First and lessors cannot claim possession during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the carrier. According to the tribunal, aircraft and its engines are the sole essence of Go First's business and if taken away, it would result in its "corporate death" leaving no scope for its resolution.
Indian airline companies are likely to announce the suspension of flight operations to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said appropriate action would be taken in case anything is 'found wanting'.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
Miscommunication with the ATC is said to have caused the near-miss. DGCA probe underway.
The report quoted the civil defence as saying that there were no survivors in the incident.
The legendary Russian-origin MiG-21 jets are set to participate for the last time at the annual Air Force Day parade on October 8, with the IAF rolling out the process to phase out the remaining three squadrons of the aircraft.
An Intermediate Jet Trainer prototype aircraft crashed during routine flight test in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district on Thursday, but both test pilots ejected to safety, police said.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a gazette notification under the National Security Guard Act, empowering the NSG Director General or an Inspector General of the force authorized by DG NSG to requisition aircraft from any operator registered in India in the interest of public safety for public service.
The Indian Navy has deployed task groups comprising frontline destroyers and frigates in the central and north Arabian Sea and augmented its force levels in the region to undertake maritime security operations in view of recent attacks on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Friday said it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Airlines to take two aircraft on lease to meet its operational requirements.
The sources said the aircraft was allotted a remote bay C-33 instead of a Contact Stand, an aircraft parking stand that is suitable for walking passengers to and from an aircraft from an allocated boarding gate. This further added to passenger woes and deprived them the opportunity to avail basic facilities like rest rooms and refreshments at the terminal, they added.
The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
A procession of barges will take nearly 7,000 athletes along the river past Paris's most famous landmarks, while more than 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks.
A naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning has conducted take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea.
As severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' initiated its landfall process between the coasts of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal on Sunday evening, authorities took swift action, evacuating over 1 lakh people from vulnerable areas of the state to safety.
FAA had downgraded India's safety ranking from category-II from -I after an audit revealed deficiencies in regulatory oversight.
The guidelines come in the wake of back-to-back two urination incidents on Air India flights last year.
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With Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju favouring such checks, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has prepared a monthly programme of surveillance of airports as well as of all schedule, non-schedule and general aviation companies, foreign airlines and the aviation wings of state governments, they said.
