India's largest pilots' association is urging aviation regulators to ground all Boeing 787 aircraft in the country for electrical system inspections, following an incident in which an emergency power device unexpectedly deployed during a recent Air India flight. The device, called a ram air turbine, is designed to drop from the plane's fuselage to provide backup power for essential systems if the aircraft loses electrical or hydraulic power. It deployed on an Air India flight en route to Birmingham, England, on Saturday, the New York Times reports. Air India Flight 117 landed safely at its destination moments after the device deployed.
According to Air India, initial checks found no electrical or hydraulic abnormalities, but the Federation of Indian Pilots, which represents over 6,000 pilots, is still pressing for a comprehensive inspection of all 34 Boeing 787s in Air India's fleet. The association's president, Capt. Charanvir Singh Randhawa, called the deployment of the ram air turbine in the absence of a clear system failure unprecedented, the AP reports. "It's a serious concern that warrants a detailed inquiry," he said.
The incident marks the second time since June that the emergency turbine has been activated on an Air India 787. The earlier event happened during a June 12 flight from Ahmedabad, which crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground. Investigators have yet to determine whether the turbine's deployment was a cause or a symptom of the power loss in that case.
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