On 12 June, just 38 hours after the deadly Air India flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad, killing over 260 people, another flight from the same airline from Delhi to Vienna faced a serious safety scare.
During takeoff, the Boeing 777 flight AI187 reportedly lost about 900ft in altitude and triggered multiple warnings, including a “stall alert” and “don’t sink” Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), a report in The Times of India claimed.
Both the “stall” and “don’t sink” warnings signal a dangerous loss of lift and altitude shortly after takeoff – requiring immediate corrective action to avoid a crash.
Although the pilots managed to stabilise the aircraft and complete the flight to Vienna, both have reportedly since been suspended from flying duties pending an investigation by India’s aviation regulator.
The Boeing 777, which took off amid thunderstorms in Delhi at 2.56am on 14 June, according to flight tracing sites, reportedly lost about 900ft in altitude and triggered the critical warnings.
The Indian aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has launched a probe, summoning Air India’s head of safety and grounding both pilots pending investigation.
Officials familiar with the incident told the outlet that the aircraft experienced multiple in-flight alerts shortly after takeoff. “The aircraft was involved in an inflight occurrence of stick shaker and GPWS caution. Soon after takeoff, stick shaker warning and GPWS don’t sink caution appeared. Stall warning came once and GPWS caution came twice,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying by the outlet.
The official added: “There was an altitude loss of around 900ft during climb. Subsequently, the crew recovered the aircraft and continued the flight to Vienna.”
Notably, the initial flight report only cited “stick shaker due to turbulence”, omitting the more serious alerts, the report said. A deeper review of the flight data recorder later revealed that a stall warning and GPWS “don’t sink” caution had also occurred – findings that emerged amid heightened DGCA scrutiny following the AI171 crash.
Both pilots have since been grounded, and AI’s head of safety has reportedly been summoned as India’s aviation regulator investigates.
The DGCA earlier had ordered enhanced inspections of the airline’s Boeing 787 and 777 fleets.
In the wake of the incident, Air India has also cut its international wide-body operations by 15 per cent to accommodate intensified safety inspections.
An Air India spokesperson 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.”
The Independent has reached out to Air India for further comment.
Meanwhile, the preliminary report on the Air India Ahmedabad crash is expected to be released by 11 July, according to NDTV.
