An identical Air India plane to the one in last week’s devastating crash was forced to make an emergency landing in 2023 after its engine gave way mid-air.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to turn back an hour into its 14-hour flight two years ago between Mumbai and London, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
Pilots flying the plane in August 2023 reported hearing a ‘loud thud’ immediately before the left engine lost power due to poor maintenance.
An account given by Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of last Thursday’s disaster, also recalled a ‘loud noise’ immediately before the Air India flight AI171 crashed.
His seat, 11A, was near the Boeing’s left engine.
Investigators looking into the 2023 engine failure have now determined the Boeing’s left-hand engine, made by the US company General Electric, failed after a turbine blade was incorrectly bolted in during routine maintenance and then broke loose.
They concluded the ‘release’ of a high-pressure compressor blade ‘had occurred due to improper installation of locking lugs of HPC Stage 10’.
The DGCA was also found to have less than half the staff in place with Indian parliamentarians saying three months ago they had ‘fundamental concerns’.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to turn back an hour into its 14-hour flight two years ago. Pictured: An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Chunks of the Air India fuselage and tail were seen protruding from a demolished building
The sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in hospital, seen here
A report by the Indian parliament’s transport committee found of 1,633 available posts only 754 were filled – leaving 879 vacancies.
It read: ‘The committee notes with serious concern the high number of vacancies across key aviation regulatory and operational bodies, particularly in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and the Airports Authority of India.
‘The DGCA, responsible for aviation safety and regulatory oversight, has a vacancy rate exceeding 53 per cent, raising fundamental concerns about its capacity to enforce aviation safety standards effectively.’
It added nearly 35 per cent of jobs were unfilled at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security – tasked with maintaining aviation security – and this was ‘posing risks to the robustness of security oversight at airports’.
Concerns were also voiced by the Airports Authority of India, which manages critical airport infrastructure and air traffic services, that unfilled job vacancies were impacting operational efficiency and airport expansion.
A spokesman said: ‘The committee is deeply concerned that chronic understaffing in these institutions could undermine safety, security, and service delivery standards, particularly as air traffic volumes continue to rise.
‘The committee urges the Ministry of Civil Aviation to expedite the recruitment process to fill vacancies across DGCA, BCAS, and AAI, ensuring that regulatory oversight, security enforcement, and airport operations are not compromised.’
Last Friday, the DGCA issued a notice to Air India ordering more inspections of all of its 787‑8 and 787‑9 fleet with GE engines.
This included an inspection of the fuel monitoring systems, a test of the electronic engine control, a check of the hydraulics and a review of take‑off parameters.
There is also a requirement to carry out ‘power assurance checks’ on each airliner within two weeks.
