The new regulator will be called Civil Aviation Authority that will also administer financial matters.
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.
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.
Aviation is a juicy target. It's a 24x7 industry, which cannot afford delays or loss of customer credibility.
'The crash site must be secured because something small -- like a pipe or hydraulic line -- could hold a critical clue.'
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
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.
'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.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
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.'
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.
'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 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.
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.
On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.
'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 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.'
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect.
The aircraft is awaiting repairs at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport after developing an engineering issue, a British high commission spokesperson said on Friday.
India's scores in the ICAO's air safety oversight audit will improve substantially as the international watchdog's just-concluded validation mission was highly successful as per the initial reports, regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16.
IndiGo, which operates the largest fleet among Indian carriers, has reported the highest number of serious engine-related incidents.
Air India will begin operating flights between Ahmedabad and London Heathrow from August 1, replacing the Gatwick route. The airline is also partially resuming domestic and international services suspended after a fatal plane crash. Some routes will remain suspended until September 30, while others will see increased frequency.
'This was textbook emergency response under stress.'
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.
Turkiye and Azerbaijan backed Pakistan and condemned India's recent strikes on terror camps in that country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
'Who tried engine relight?' 'If the first officer was the one flying at takeoff, the captain may have taken control immediately post-thrust loss.' 'But the AAIB report doesn't clarify any of this.'
Several foreign experts were seen scouting the crash site for the last two days, checking the debris to find clues.
'We will continue supporting those affected long after the work in Ahmedabad is done.'
