Air India Faces Warning for Flying Airbus with Unchecked Slides

• Regulatory body cautions Air India regarding overdue inspections on three aircraft.
• Inspections revealed unverified emergency supplies on the aircraft, according to the regulator.
• Some Air India planes were found to have outdated registration documents.

India’s aviation regulatory authority has issued a warning to Air India for violating safety standards after three of its Airbus aircraft flew despite missing mandatory emergency equipment inspections. These findings were outlined in official documents reviewed by Reuters.

The warnings and the investigation report were unrelated to last week’s crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8, which resulted in the deaths of all but one of the 242 individuals aboard the flight. The warnings were sent only a few days before this tragic incident occurred.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), surprise inspections conducted in May revealed that three Air India Airbus planes were still operational despite overdue inspections on critical emergency gear, specifically escape slides.

In at least one instance, the inspection of an Airbus A320 was postponed for over a month, ultimately occurring on May 15. Radar data from AirNav indicates that during this delay, the aircraft was flown to international destinations including Dubai, Riyadh, and Jeddah.

Another Airbus A319 used for domestic flights was discovered to be over three months overdue for its checks, while a third aircraft’s inspection missed its deadline by two days.

“These instances highlight that these aircraft were operated with expired or unverified emergency equipment, which contravenes established airworthiness and safety standards,” stated the DGCA report.

Air India “failed to respond promptly” to the deficiencies identified by the DGCA, indicating significant flaws in their procedures and oversight, the report continued.

Since its acquisition by the Tata Group in 2022, Air India announced that it is “accelerating” the verification of all its maintenance records, particularly concerning the escape slides, and plans to complete the process shortly.

In one case, the issue was highlighted when an engineer from AI Engineering Services “accidentally deployed an escape slide during maintenance,” the company advised.

Neither the DGCA nor Airbus provided comments in response to Reuters’ inquiries.

Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the government’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, emphasized the seriousness of these slide checks, stating, “In the event of an accident, failure to open could result in severe injuries.”

The DGCA noted that certificates of airworthiness for any aircraft that misses mandatory inspections are considered “suspended.”

The warnings and report were sent by Animesh Garg, a deputy director of airworthiness in the Indian government, to Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson as well as the airline’s continuing airworthiness manager, quality manager, and head of planning.

An aviation lawyer in India mentioned that such breaches generally attract both financial and civil penalties for both the airline and its executives.

Last year, Wilson mentioned to Reuters that global shortages of parts have impacted most airlines, but the effect has been felt more acutely by Air India due to its aging fleet, many of which haven’t been updated since they were delivered in 2010-2011.

Systemic Issues Identified

Like many global regulators, the Indian aviation authority frequently fines airlines for compliance violations. In February, the country’s junior aviation minister informed parliament that airlines had been warned or fined 23 times for safety infractions in the previous year. Around half of these instances—12—concerned Air India and Air India Express, including one incident involving “unauthorized cockpit access.” The largest penalty was a fine of $127,000 against Air India for “insufficient oxygen on board” a flight to San Francisco.

The recent crash, the investigation into which is ongoing, poses additional challenges for Air India as it seeks to improve its reputation, which has faced criticism from travelers for inadequate service for many years.

Air India’s Chairman, N. Chandrasekaran, informed staff that the incident should serve as a wake-up call to enhance the safety of the airline, urging them to remain steadfast despite the criticism.

The DGCA’s report also pointed out that numerous Air India aircraft inspected had outdated registration paperwork. Air India responded to Reuters, claiming that all but one of its aircraft were compliant and insisted that this did not affect safety.

The DGCA investigation criticized the airline for “insufficient internal oversight,” stating, “Despite previous warnings and identified issues, the organization’s internal quality and planning departments failed to take effective corrective actions, indicating a failure in systemic controls.”