An audit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), uncovered 51 safety violations at Air India, including seven Level I lapses ~ those considered serious enough to “seriously endanger safety”. These revelations arrive in the shadow of the Air India Flight 171 crash of 12 June, a tragedy that claimed 241 lives on board and 19 on the ground, with dozens more injured in Ahmedabad’s B.J. Medical College area. AI 171 ~ a Boeing 787 8 Dreamliner bound for London ~ lost engine power seconds after takeoff. Both fuel control switches inexplicably shifted to “CUTOFF,” resulting in a complete loss of thrust. After a last-minute Mayday call, the aircraft crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood.

It was the deadliest aviation disaster in India in nearly thirty years, and the first fatal hull loss of a Boeing 787. While DGCA has stated that larger carriers tend to generate a higher number of audit findings due to their complexity, this explanation offers........

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