The Indian aviation authority found 51 safety deficiencies at Air India during an audit in July. These include poorly trained pilots, incorrect simulators, and inadequate rosters. Air India has been under scrutiny since the crash of a Boeing 787 in which 260 people died.
The 51 safety deficiencies are mentioned in a report by the Indian aviation authority Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). News agency Reuters was allowed to view the confidential report. The audit was separate from the crash in June, but does report recurring safety deficiencies that Air India previously received.
The airline, owned by the Tata Group, had previously received warnings for flying aircraft without checking the emergency equipment. Air India would also fail to replace engine parts in a timely manner, falsify documents and insufficiently monitor fatigue among cabin crew.
According to the audit report, Air India also failed to conduct “sound route assessments” for some airports with difficult terrain. These airports belong to a separate category because landing is more challenging. The training for such airports was conducted with simulators that did not meet quality requirements.
Tired pilots and too few staff
The report mentions seven significant violations that must be resolved by July 30. The 44 other violations must be improved by August 23. Significant violations include excessive working hours for pilots and staff shortages.
Air India’s roster system would not warn if an aircraft took to the air with too few crew members. According to the report, four international flights departed with too few cabin crew.
Air India told Reuters that it will “submit a response to the regulator within the set deadline, including details for the corrective measures”.
Earlier this month, a preliminary report on the crashed Boeing 787 revealed that the fuel control buttons switched from on to off almost simultaneously. That caused confusion in the cockpit. One of the engines could be restarted, but the aircraft lost too much speed to maintain altitude.