Vienna-bound Air India’s Boeing 777 struggles during takeoff

Air India. Representative image/Wikimedia Commons

#Air India# Ahmedabad Crash# Boeing 777# Air India crash# DGCA

IBNS-CMEDIA: An Air India flight, en route to Vienna from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on June 14, dropped 900 feet mid-air soon after takeoff. Both pilots have now been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation, the airline said. 

The incident occurred just two days after an Air India flight with 242 onboard crashed in Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff, killing all but one on board.

The airline took the action after it disclosed the matter to the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in “accordance with regulations”, Air India said in a statement.

“Upon receipt of the pilot’s report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft’s recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation,” an Air India spokesperson told the media.

The Boeing 777 landed safely in Vienna after a flight of 9 hours and 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel led by JDU MP Sanjay Jha is all set to review recent air crashes and also manpower gaps in the aviation sector.

Ahmedabad crash

On June 12, a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed just seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 1.30 pm, killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board.

The aircraft lost altitude shortly after takeoff and crashed into the residential quarters of doctors from BJ Medical College in the Meghaninagar area.

It went up in flames, sending thick black smoke into the sky.

The crash left 34 people dead on the ground.