Pilots' grouping FIP demands grounding of AI's Boeing 787s
seeks checks of planes' electrical systems
Mumbai (PTI): In the wake of two incidents involving Air India's Boeing Dreamliner planes in one week, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Friday urged the civil aviation ministry to ground the airline's entire fleet of Dreamliners, check their electrical systems and also order a DGCA special audit of Air India.
FIP said on October 9, Air India flight AI154 from Vienna to Delhi diverted to Dubai due to major technical issues and on October 4, Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed on AI117 while landing at the Birmingham airport from Amritsar. Both flights were operated with Boeing 787 planes, also known as Dreamliners.
On June 12, Air India's Dreamliner operating the flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, FIP President Captain C S Randhawa said that since June 16, the grouping has been demanding that all Boeing 787s in the country must be checked thoroughly for the electrical systems.
While seeking a thorough investigation into the two incidents involving AI117 and AI154, the grouping demanded that all Dreamliners in the country should be grounded, and their electrical systems and other repetitive snags be thoroughly checked.
"There is a need to check the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) releases and repetitive snags on the aircraft especially B-787s," FIP said as it sought a special audit of Air India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet, and IndiGo operates these planes leased from Norse Atlantic.
According to the letter, while operating the flight AI154, the plane had major technical issues where the autopilot system suddenly failed, triggering a series of technical malfunctions.
"The aircraft experienced failures across critical systems which included Autopilots, ILS (Instrument Landing System), Flight Directors (FDs) and Flight Control System Degradation with no Autoland capability. The pilots could not engage the autopilots due electrical malfunctions; thus, pilots were constrained to fly manually at night and divert to Dubai.
"Moreover, the FDs were not available with degraded flight control systems," FIP, which represents around 5,000 pilots, said in the letter.l
FIP also said the aircraft landed safely at Dubai and complimented the skill of the pilots for flying the plane with limited automation/systems.
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway ‘missing link’ to open on May 1; will improve travel safety: Shinde
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the long-awaited ‘missing link’ on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, aimed at bypassing the winding Bhor Ghat section and improving safety, will be inaugurated on May 1.
Shinde, who inspected the project site, said the new stretch will make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the hilly section.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to inaugurate the 13.3-km-long missing link, which connects Khopoli on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala, on Maharashtra Day, which is celebrated on May 1, he said.
The deputy CM said that 99 per cent of the project work has been completed. “I personally inspected the quality of work and found it satisfactory. The remaining minor works will be completed in the next few days,” Shinde said.
Shinde said the new alignment will bypass sharp curves and accident-prone stretches in the ghat section, helping reduce delays and improve commuter safety. He claimed accidents in the section would reduce substantially once the project becomes operational.
“The missing link project will make travel between Mumbai and Pune quicker, safer and more convenient, and will contribute significantly to the state’s development,” he said.
The Rs 6,700-crore project, developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), includes two tunnels, high viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley.
The missing link will reduce the travel distance between Mumbai and Pune by approximately 6 km and shorten the journey time by 20 to 30 minutes, said officials.
Initially, only light motor vehicles and buses will be permitted on the new stretch to reduce congestion on the existing ghat section, officials said, adding that heavy goods vehicles will be prohibited due to safety concerns.
“There will be no toll hike because of the missing link project. No increase has been proposed at the Khalapur toll plaza either,” Shinde said.
The project comprises two eight-lane tunnels of 1.75 km and 8.92 km in length and two viaducts measuring 850 metres and 650 metres, said officials. It has been designed to bypass the old Khandala ghat section, a winding route that has long slowed down traffic and posed safety risks, said officials.
The 650-metre viaduct will feature what officials described as India’s tallest road cable-stayed bridge, with pylons rising to 182 metres, taller than those on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
Officials claimed that the tunnels have a width of 23.75 metres and are among the widest road tunnels in the world. An MSRDC official said the tunnel is likely to be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
The route runs beneath the Lonavala lake area and was executed in difficult terrain marked by heavy rainfall and strong winds, officials said.
Shinde said projects such as the missing link would boost access to tourist destinations such as Lohagad Fort, Visapur Fort and Karla Caves.
MP Shrirang Barne, former corporator Abasaheb Bagul, MSRDC Managing Director Anilkumar Gaikwad and senior engineers from executing agencies were present during the inspection, officials said.
Krishnamurthy Subramanian, executive chairman of construction and engineering company Afcons International Private Limited, said the journey to completion of “India’s highest road cable-stayed bridge” was challenging.
“The bridge, located in the Sahyadri region, presented extreme challenges, including narrow ridges that left little room for heavy machinery, sudden wind speeds reaching up to 100 kmph, and dense fog reducing visibility to a few metres. Despite these conditions, we are proud to deliver this engineering marvel,” he said.
The expressway, spanning approximately 95 km, holds the distinction of being India's first access-controlled highway.
