Air India inspected emergency power use on UK-bound flight

(Representational image)

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is investigating how an emergency power system got activated midair in one of Air India’s UK-bound flights over the weekend, said people familiar with the matter.

India’s aviation watchdog is probing the deployment of Ram Air Turbine, or RAT, without any discernible mechanical issues with the jet that was flying from Amritsar to Birmingham on Oct. 4, said the people who did not want to be identified as the information is not public.

The operating crew of flight AI117 detected RAT deployment in the aircraft during its final approach, Air India said in a statement Sunday, adding that it had inspected the jet. “All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal, and the aircraft performed a safe landing” at its destination, it added.

The aircraft was grounded temporarily for safety checks and is now back in the fleet, an Air India spokesperson said.

The incident comes months after a RAT deployment was seen in an Air India flight that crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in June 30 seconds after take-off, killing all but one of 242 on board. While the final crash report on one of the worst aviation tragedies is still awaited, the emergency-power turbine kicking in the UK-bound flight has stoked demands for a more thorough investigation.

RAT is deployed only in case of emergencies like loss of power and helps power critical systems like flight controls and navigation instruments. In the latest case, it deployed despite the systems running normal.

“The deployment of RAT on B-787 aircraft VT-ANO on approach at 500 feet while landing into Birmingham is a serious concern despite the fact there was no problem with the aircraft,” said Charanvir Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, which represents more than 6,000 pilots.

The pilot body has petitioned India’s aviation regulator, crash probe agency as well as the aviation ministry to check the electrical systems on all the Boeing 787 aircraft in the country, Randhawa added.