The crash of Air India flight AI 171 has not only cast a long shadow over the aviation industry in India but also triggered a flurry of high-level action both at the regulatory and corporate levels. As investigations continue into what caused the tragic accident, with Indian authorities requesting patience until the final report, US officials have already ruled out certain causes. At the same time, top brass from Tata Group and the aviation ministry are engaged in intense deliberations to bolster safety and rebuild trust in the national carrier, claimed a section of the media.
Suggesting that the fuel control switches on the doomed AI 171 were manually moved, the new head of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said the crash was unlikely to have been caused by a mechanical issue with the plane or inadvertent movement of the aircraft’s fuel control switches.
“We can say with a high level of confidence it doesn’t appear to be a mechanical issue with the Boeing fuel control unit. We feel very comfortable that this isn’t an issue with inadvertent manipulation of fuel control,” agencies quoted FAA administrator Bryan Bedford as saying. The doomed plane’s fuel supply to engines had been cut off, causing it to crash. It is not known what caused the fuel switches’ position to change.
Reports added that Indian authorities, who are investigating the crash and have requested patience for the final report before drawing conclusions, did not comment on the claim.
Meanwhile, brainstorming is on at the highest levels of Tata Group and the aviation ministry. According to reports, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran met Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha. The meeting came after three days of detailed discussions between the airline management led by CEO Campbell Wilson and officials led by the secretary that have led to concrete suggestions emerging from the same.
“We have discussed all issues threadbare including those related to maintenance, leadership and communications. Something positive will come out of this. India needs strong carriers and the government will support airlines wherever needed. The results will hopefully be visible in coming days once the suggestions are implemented,” some people in the know were quoted as saying to national daily. One such meeting went on till well after 10 pm earlier this week.
Reports, attributing sources, claimed that Chandrasekaran informed the government about the steps being taken by the airline post the AI 171 crash and some recent incidents to bolster safety.
It is learned the areas identified during the recent meetings for immediate attention include airworthiness, engineering and maintenance. A lack of spares, for instance, often forces aircraft to fly under “minimum equipment list” (MEL) for a long time. MEL is a list that conditionally allows aircraft to be used with some equipment inoperative with the condition that the same does not impact safety and that it would be replaced within a certain timeframe.
The main issue, say multiple people involved in the exercise, is culture. Vistara was merged into AI last November when it should have been the other way round. Both the airlines, they added, have a very different culture. AI is facing post-merger issues. The main issue is not operations but engineering and maintenance, they reportedly said.
For some time, having the better run Singapore Airlines (SIA) — which has 25.1% stake in AI with the rest with the Tatas — play a more visible hand holding may be considered. It’s not about the image of AI alone, which has taken a beating, but also the Maharaja’s new promoters — Tatas and SIA.
The focus has to be on ensuring 100% safety and not growing rapidly. AI has cut flights post the Ahmedabad crash.
Furthermore, the example analysts have cited is of Boeing which has been through a rollercoaster in recent years from being a “marvellous organisation once celebrated for engineering excellence” to an airline cutting corners for commercial reasons when it tried to counter competitor Airbus’ best-seller A320NEO planes with a hurriedly made B737 MAX.
Ironically, after two MAX crashes in quick succession, Boeing is now trying hard to win back customer airlines’ and flyers’ faith by making safer planes.
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