Decides not to fly the aircraft till clearance
from DGCA and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
Following the decision of Europe, the U.S. and Japan to put Boeing 787
Dreamliner out of action, Air India on Thursday announced grounding of all six
sophisticated aircraft, operating inside and outside the country.
The government has said the aircraft will not be allowed to fly until a
formal clearance is granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the air-worthiness of the
Dreamliner.
Japan on Wednesday grounded the Dreamliners following complaints of
over-heating of the battery. On Thursday morning the FAA directed that all
Dreamliners be grounded. It asked the entire 50-strong global fleet, including
the six with Air India to cease operations until a battery fire risk was
corrected.
Experts in the industry say that it could take weeks for the FAA and the
Boeing to arrive at a decision on the issue and sort out the situation that
could allow the most technologically advanced aircraft to take wings once
again. The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive to address the
problem requiring all operators to temporarily cease operations. Before further
flight, operators of the U.S.-registered Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate
to the FAA that the batteries are safe. The FAA in a statement said it would
work with the manufacturer and carryout a corrective action plan to allow the
787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.
The decision to ground the Dreamliners in India came following advice by
DGCA to Air India to follow the FAA directive. “We will certainly not fly the
Dreamliner until the FAA and the DGCA give clearance,” Civil Aviation Minister
Ajit Singh told reporters here.
Safety inspections
Mr. Singh said the DGCA was in touch with the FAA. “What I know is that
the Boeing has to come up with a plan for the FAA to test all the electrical
system and batteries. When that plan comes up, we will also test them but
basically first the FAA has to approve that they are safe to fly,” he said. The
DGCA has already formed a team to carry out safety inspections of Dreamliners
and they would be coordinating the effort with the Boeing technical team that
is already stationed in India.
Air India officials said the grounding of the Dreamliners would not have
any impact on the airline’s operations as the flights to Dubai, Paris and
Frankfurt operated by these aircraft would now be serviced by Boeing 777s.
While one Dreamliner is always on standby, three were used in the domestic
sector and two on international routes.
Three of these planes, all owned by Japanese carriers, this month
suffered technical and other problems — an electrical fire, fuel leakage and a
broken cockpit window. In September last, Air India also experienced a
malfunctioning in a Dreamliner's liquid cooling system and electrical power
system which led to the grounding of all three of these planes at that time.
After the faults were rectified, these aircraft were flying on select domestic
and international routes.
Regarding fuel leak, the Air India officials were of the view that it
was not something unusual as it happened in all types of aircraft. “Such
problems have to be rectified immediately but these are not anything new or
different,” an Air India official said.
· FAA
directed that all Dreamliners should be grounded
· Air
India says grounding of Dreamliners will not have any impact on its services
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/air-india-grounds-all-six-dreamliners/article4318109.ece
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