AI 171: FIP flags repetitive snags, maintenance issues at Air India

Ahmedabad: Air India’s maintenance standards could also come under scrutiny in connection with the AI 171 plane crash investigation, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) president Captain C S Randhawa said on Thursday, citing past DGCA audit findings on repetitive snags and maintenance deficiencies.

The FIP chief alleged that maintenance-related issues at the airline could not be ruled out and referred to observations made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last year.

“As stated by the minister in Parliament, 138 out of 166 Air India aircraft had repetitive snags. By comparison, IndiGo had 148 out of 405 aircraft,” Randhawa said.

He further claimed that DGCA audits flagged maintenance shortcomings at the airline, with “more than 300 findings” emerging during inspections.

An Air India spokesperson said the airline undertook a “voluntary safety pause” after the AI 171 crash, temporarily reducing flights to carry out additional checks on Boeing 787 aircraft under DGCA oversight. The spokesperson said inspections of Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft, as well as fuel control switch checks on Boeing 737 and 787-8 planes, found no issues. Air India also said it strengthened its risk-based audit framework, increasing the frequency of operational audits beyond DGCA-mandated requirements.

Randhawa also said that after Air India’s separation from AI Engineering Services Limited, several experienced engineers were no longer involved in servicing aircraft.

“Now engineers are coming from other sources, including NSOPs, general aviation, or smaller aircraft backgrounds. That too could be an issue,” he said.

He maintained that maintenance standards and repetitive technical snags should be examined as part of the wider probe into the crash.