The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has called on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to rigorously check and investigate the electrical systems of all Boeing 787 aircraft operating in India. This demand follows an incident on October 4, when a Boeing 787 operated by Air India on its Amritsar-Birmingham route experienced an unexpected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) during the plane’s final approach to Birmingham.
What happened on the Amritsar-Birmingham flight?
According to Air India, the flight crew reported the RAT deployment at approximately 500 feet above ground level during the landing phase. Despite the emergency power activation, the aircraft landed safely without further complications. The incident was flagged by the Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) system, which detected a fault in the Bus Power Control Unit (BPCU) the component responsible for managing the aircraft’s electrical power. The BPCU oversees the aircraft’s entire electrical power distribution. The RAT system is designed to automatically deploy in cases of dual engine failure or a complete loss of electrical or hydraulic power, generating emergency power using wind speed.
FIP President G S Randhawa stated in a letter to the DGCA that the BPCU fault might have caused the RAT’s unexpected activation.
Link to June’s Air India Boeing 787 crash
The call for thorough checks comes in the wake of the tragic crash of Air India flight AI-171 in June, which killed 260 people shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. Preliminary investigations revealed that engine fuel control switches were accidentally cut off, possibly linked to electrical system issues.
FIP’s demands for comprehensive checks
Since the June crash, the Federation of Indian Pilots has repeatedly urged authorities, including the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), to thoroughly inspect the electrical systems on all Boeing 787s in India. However, so far, DGCA’s inspections have been limited to the fuel control switches alone.
