New Delhi: A parliamentary committee on transport has summoned top officials from Boeing, along with senior representatives from Indian airlines and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to address growing concerns over aviation safety and aircraft maintenance in India. The high-level meeting is expected to take place in the first week of July, with the spotlight firmly on the recent crash of an Air India-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Sources have revealed that committee members will undertake a hands-on assessment of Air India’s operations, travelling on the airline despite other available carriers, to directly evaluate aircraft conditions, in-flight safety, and staff performance. This follows a series of worrying developments that have raised questions about the robustness of India’s aviation oversight.
The meeting will include discussions on aircraft maintenance lapses, frequent helicopter accidents, and the role of regulatory bodies like the DGCA. The mental and physical fitness of pilots will also come under scrutiny. According to insiders, the committee has noted “several shortcomings” in the current civil aviation system and intends to address these in a comprehensive report, which is expected to be tabled in the upcoming session of Parliament.
Ahead of the July meeting, the committee will first travel to Gangtok to review air and road connectivity in the Northeast, with a focus on boosting tourism in the region.
The urgency of the meeting has been triggered by the catastrophic crash of Air India Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad. The aircraft failed to generate sufficient thrust after lifting off and crashed into a nearby residential area, killing 271 of the 272 people onboard and 33 on the ground. A student hostel bore the brunt of the tragedy.
While the black box and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered, both sustained damage in the crash and will undergo forensic analysis to extract any usable data. Initial theories, based on crash footage and emergency radio chatter, suggest a possible dual-engine failure or complete hydraulic/electronic system failure. The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) — typically deployed in emergency scenarios — was visibly activated, lending weight to the theory of a critical systems malfunction.
Air India has maintained that the ill-fated aircraft had undergone regular maintenance. The right engine was replaced four months prior, and the left engine had been inspected in April. Despite this, the DGCA has taken swift and stern action — ordering the removal of three senior Air India officials involved in crew scheduling and rostering. The aviation regulator has demanded disciplinary proceedings against the trio, warning that failure to act could jeopardise the airline’s operating license.
In the aftermath of the crash, Air India has grounded over 100 flights as it rushes to complete a safety audit of its Dreamliner fleet, which consists of 32 aircraft. Meanwhile, multiple Boeing aircraft — both domestic and foreign-operated — have reported technical snags, prompting precautionary returns and emergency landings in various locations.
With the global spotlight on Boeing and the Indian aviation sector under renewed scrutiny, the parliamentary committee’s forthcoming session is expected to be a pivotal moment for aviation policy and accountability in India.
