Indian pilots demand answers after Boeing 787 mid-air power scare
Regulator urged to inspect all Dreamliners for electrical issues after unexpected RAT deployment on an Air India flight to the UK
India’s leading body of pilots has asked the civil aviation regulator to inspect all Boeing 787 Dreamliners operating in the country for electrical issues after one of the planes abruptly deployed an emergency power system mid-air over the weekend.
The device, a small propeller that acts as a backup generator and is known as the ram air turbine, or RAT, normally would be activated when an aircraft’s engines lose power, its hydraulic systems register critically low pressure or its electrical systems fail.
However, the RAT engaged unexpectedly on Saturday aboard Air India flight 117 from the northern Indian city of Amritsar moments before it landed safely in Birmingham, England.
The Federation of Indian Pilots, which represents about 6,000 pilots, asked for the investigation on Sunday evening.
Air India, owned by business conglomerate Tata Group, said in a statement that an initial inspection following the weekend incident found that “all electrical and hydraulic parameters were normal”, and that the aircraft landed safely.