Air India To Cut Flights After Crash

Air India is cutting international flying in the wake of a fatal accident involving one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The decision, which will continue into July, will result in a reduction of around 15% in international operations for several weeks.

The necessary inspections being undertaken on the fleet, which require a razor focus, have prevented the ability to operate a regular schedule, and onlookers argue it’s for the best.

Air India also says that it’s cancelling some of its network in response to the ongoing geopolitical tensions unfolding across the Middle East, which is affecting neighbouring airspace.

As for the aircraft, numerous inspections have already been conducted on the 787 Dreamliner fleet, which has been the primary focus following the incident. Air India has confirmed that 26 of those jets have been inspected and cleared to return to service.

Air India aims to ensure a stable operation and provide confidence to its customers that no stone is being left unturned in the overall rebuilding of its operation, with safety checks being conducted.

Naturally, the 787 remains the primary focus of investigations, and Air India is also extending its inspections to the Boeing 777 fleet.

While no aircraft is inspected for weeks at a time, given the airline’s firm reliance on these Boeing planes, each inspection must be conducted carefully, and the knock-on effect does impact the operation.

The Air India 787 Crash

All the inspections were driven by a Boeing 787-8 operating a routine flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick; however, shortly after departure, the aircraft crashed.

Flight AI171 was operated by VT-ANB, a 787-8 with a serial number of 36279. This particular aircraft had completed more than 41,000 hours of flight time and almost 8,000 takeoffs and landings.

The first flight of the Boeing 787-8 took place on December 14, 2013, with delivery to Air India on January 28, 2014. At the time of the incident, this aircraft was 11.5 years old.

According to local media, the crash site was the hostel of BJ Medical College, located in a residential area, and the incident occurred during lunchtime.

Imagery shows several parts of the 787’s body scattered in different areas of the building, highlighting the ferocity of the incident.

The sole survivor was a British national of Indian origin and is considered a miracle given the 241 other crew and passengers who did not make it, given the severity of the incident.

Unfortunately, with the crash impacting BJ Medical College, there were further fatalities on the ground at the time when the plane impacted.