An Air India aircraft (AI-159), scheduled to operate the first London-bound flight from Ahmedabad since last week's deadly crash, was grounded on Tuesday due to a technical fault. The flight, set to depart at 1:10 pm, did not take off, making it the fourth such incident involving an Air India aircraft within the past 24 hours. The airline has announced that refunds will be issued to all affected passengers.
Flight AI-159 had been introduced as a replacement for the ill-fated AI-171, which crashed shortly after takeoff last week, killing 274 people. The now-retired AI-171 had been en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it plunged into a residential area in Ahmedabad, striking the BJ Medical College hostel building. The crash claimed the lives of 242 passengers and crew members aboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, along with 29 others on the ground, including five medical students. Only one person on board survived.
According to data from flight tracking service Flightradar24, Tuesday's AI-159 flight was also scheduled to be operated using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner—the same aircraft model involved in the tragic AI-171 crash.
Growing concerns over Air India aircraft safety
The cancellation of AI-159 comes amid heightened scrutiny of Air India’s fleet, particularly its wide-body aircraft, as the airline continues to report a spate of technical issues. Earlier on Tuesday, Air India flight AI-180, operating from San Francisco to Mumbai, encountered a technical snag in one of its engines during a scheduled stopover at Kolkata. As a precaution, all passengers were deplaned.
On Monday, two other Air India aircraft faced similar issues. Flight AI-315, a Dreamliner traveling from Hong Kong to Delhi, was forced to return shortly after takeoff due to a suspected technical fault. In a separate incident the same day, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Ranchi had to be diverted back to Delhi following another suspected snag.
Also Read: Post Ahmedabad crash, Boeing's reputation nosedives further
Investigation into AI-171 crash
In response to the catastrophic crash of AI-171, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a full-scale investigation. Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR)—components collectively known as the aircraft’s “black box”—have been recovered from the crash site. These are expected to play a critical role in determining the exact cause of the accident.
Aviation experts are currently examining various possibilities, with preliminary analysis pointing toward a potential dual engine failure. Captain Steve Scheibner, a former US Navy pilot, told India Today that the deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT) shortly after takeoff suggested that both engines may have failed, leading to the fatal crash.
As investigations continue and technical issues persist across its fleet, Air India is facing intense public and regulatory pressure to address safety concerns and ensure passenger confidence moving forward.
Also Read: Air India flight suffers tech snag, passengers deplaned in Kol
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