India’s aviation regulator has issued a show-cause notice to Air India cockpit crew for operating multiple flights between Delhi and Tokyo despite being aware of safety and compliance lapses, seeking a response to the notice in two weeks.
The notice by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) pertains to operations of flight AI-357 from Delhi to Tokyo and AI-358 from Tokyo to Delhi. “The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) applicable to the aircraft was incompatible,” according to the DGCA notice.
Air India was yet to reply to the DGCA notice. The notice stated that this was not an isolated incident and that similar issues had been detected on other sectors in the past. The DGCA has also asked the pilots to explain why action should not be initiated against them under the Aircraft Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).
The aviation regulator issued the notice to Air India for operating a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner despite repetitive technical snags.
Last month, following an engine shutdown on Air India’s Delhi-Mumbai flight, the DGCA said it would probe the incident. The Mumbai-bound Air India B777-300ER aircraft returned to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely at Delhi.
“The AIC 887 (Delhi-Mumbai) was involved in an air turnback as during flap retraction after take-off, the flight crew observed low engine oil pressure on Engine No. 2 (right-hand engine),” the regulator said.
Soon after take-off, the engine oil pressure dropped to zero. Following procedure, the crew shut down the No. 2 engine, and the aircraft landed safely at Delhi, it added.
The DGCA noted that “the inspection/rectification is in progress.”
“The incident would be investigated by the airline’s Permanent Investigation Board under the supervision of Director Air Safety (NR), DGCA,” it added.
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