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.
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.
An Air India plane from Kochi veered off the runway at the Mumbai airport on Monday morning, and the aircraft has been grounded for checks.
Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials.
Names and names and names and names... 329 in all. Some Indian. Some Canadian. Some British. Berry. Gupta. Jain. James. Bhatt. Beauchesne. Chatlani. Enayati. Lougheed.... Vaihayasi Pande Daniel visits Ahakista, Ireland, home to the memorial for the worst terrorist atrocity in India's history.
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.
'Visualise those 15 to 18 seconds: Fully loaded aircraft, pilot manually controlling with both hands (no autopilot immediately after takeoff), looking forward while switches are behind.'
Authorities will conduct a survey of the areas surrounding the Ahmedabad airport, in the wake of last week's Air India plane crash that claimed 270 lives, to check whether any structures were violating height norms and posing a threat to aircraft safety, an official said on Thursday.
Under the civil aviation ministry, AAIB is responsible for the classification of safety occurrences, involving aircraft operating in the Indian airspace into accidents and serious incidents.
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.
Pilot groups have accused the AAIB of portraying the pilots as responsible for the incident, with vague and selective presentation of cockpit conversations.
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told PTI that the accident took place above the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility due to bad weather.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Navi Mumbai International Airport and a portion of the Mumbai Metro Line, marking significant improvements to transportation infrastructure in Mumbai.
A timeline of events related to the investigation of the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, including investigation initiation, black box recovery, and safety measures taken.
After chairing an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that heli services on the Char Dham route will remain suspended for two days, as the weather is bad and the safety of the passengers is the government's top priority.
A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from Mumbai was held back for over five hours on June 25, after some hay was found stuck in one of the aircraft's wings, the airline has said.
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.
The number of serious incidents has more than doubled in the last seven years.
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 multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
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 crash site must be secured because something small -- like a pipe or hydraulic line -- could hold a critical clue.'
The Indian Air Force is set to retire its fleet of MiG-21 fighter jets at a decommissioning event in Chandigarh. The event will mark the end of an era for the aircraft that has been a key part of the IAF's combat fleet for over six decades.
"India-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) will improve passenger safety and therefore caps the success of the 2005 Open Skies Agreement, which opens more routes, includes more airlines, and greatly improves the ability for companies to engage in commerce between the US and India," USIBC chief Ron Somers said.
"India-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) will improve passenger safety and therefore caps the success of the 2005 Open Skies Agreement, which opens more routes, includes more airlines, and greatly improves the ability for companies to engage in commerce between the US and India," USIBC chief Ron Somers said.
'Earlier, the NTSB was actively flagging technical issues with Boeing. But now, the narrative is shifting toward 'human error'.' 'That term is often misunderstood -- it could mean pilots, engineers, refueling staff -- anyone.' 'But this framing ('human error') conveniently steers the conversation away from mechanical or design faults.'
'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.'
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.
It added that as per international protocols under the International Civil Aviation Organisation, all information on the investigation will be provided by the government of India.
A snag-hit helicopter being towed to Gauchar for repairs by an MI-17 chopper of the Indian Air Force crashed in the hills near Kedarnath on Saturday morning.
'If anything happened out of the normal, there would be instantaneous ECAM, EICAS warnings, the master caution or master warnings going off.' 'It would be like a Christmas tree in the cockpit if things start going wrong.'
The remarks by the DGCA head is of great significance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the Congress to tell the nation who prevented India's military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks linked to Pakistan, and accused the party of weakening the fight against terrorism when in power.
The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
Air India reiterated that its priority remains extending assistance to the families.
Soon after the crash on Sunday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held an emergency meeting and asked senior officials to prepare a strict SOP (standard operating procedure) for heli services in the state, making a thorough check of the technical condition of the choppers mandatory.
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
'When there are glaring errors in the report, how can you trust anything in it?'
The Federation of Indian Pilots on Friday initiated legal action through a formal notice to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters over their recent reports on the AI-171 crash that occurred on June 12.
The ministry of civil aviation clarified that, contrary to circulating reports, a video recorder that had been recovered at the crash site was not the DFDR.
