India's top pilots' union is calling for an urgent safety inspection of all Boeing787 Dreamliner aircraft in the country after a midair incident involving an Air India flight raised new concerns.
On Saturday, October 4, Air India flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham, UK, experienced an unexpected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) — a small emergency device that supplies power when a plane loses engines, hydraulics, or electricity.
The flight landed safely, and no injuries were reported.
What has raised alarms is that, according to Air India, "all electrical and hydraulic systems were normal" at the time of the incident — meaning the turbine deployed without any obvious need.
"This is a serious concern that warrants a detailed inquiry," said Captain Charanvir Singh Randhawa, President of the Federation of Indian Pilots, a group representing around 6,000 pilots, AP News reported.
Randhawa added that in his five decades of flying, he had never seen the RAT system deploy without an actual emergency.
An "un-commanded" deployment of the 787 RAT on a Birmingham bound flight raises new questions for Boeing & the AI 171 crash. We speak to @flyingamit & Capt Jp Singh as Federation of Indian pilots demands an investigation of the entire 787 fleet. In full https://t.co/uyNAmTfUGp pic.twitter.com/W11wjHYN8D
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 6, 2025
June Crash Sparks New Safety Probe on Air India Dreamliners
In response, the pilots' union has formally requested that India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inspect all Dreamliners operating in the country — a total of 34 aircraft, including those operated by Air India.
This latest event comes just months after a deadly crash in June involving another Air India Dreamliner, where the same RAT system deployed after the engines lost power.
According to TheIndependent, that flight, which was heading to London, crashed in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including 19 on the ground.
An early report on the June crash found the fuel control switches had been moved to "cutoff," shutting down both engines and triggering the RAT.
Saturday's flight, a 12-year-old Boeing 787-8, was held overnight in Birmingham for checks. It resumed service the next day on its return route to Delhi.
Air India, now owned by Tata Group, said the aircraft had no technical issues and that initial tests showed all systems were working normally.
As of now, India's Civil Aviation Ministry has not commented, and Boeing deferred all questions to Air India.
Originally published on vcpost.com
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