NEW DELHI: A disastrous event was narrowly escaped when Air India Flight AI 315, arriving from Hong Kong, ignited upon landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The fire exploded in the aircraft’s Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) as passengers started to land at the gate.
According to an official statement from Air India, the fire was quickly put out, and all 170 passengers, including crew members, were securely evacuated.
The aircraft incurred slight damage and has been under investigation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been notified, and an inquiry is underway.
This has been the third safety mishap in a row involving Air India in just two days. On July 21, a Kochi-Mumbai flight slipped off the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport due to torrential rain, which resulted in three burst tires and suspected engine damage.
In the other flight incident, a flight from Delhi abandoned takeoff due to a technical problem.
The recent series of incidents follows last month’s tragic crash of Air India Flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, in which 260 lives were lost and demanded severe examination of the airline’s safety protocols.
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Investigators are still investigating whether an electrical malfunction in the tail section caused the crash.
Given these events, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has announced plans to examine Air India Express, the airline’s budget subsidiary, drawing attention to rising apprehensions over operational safety.
Air India says that keeping passengers safe is very important to them, even though there have been a lot of incidents.
The airline has checked all their Boeing 787 and 737 planes as a precaution, and they found no problems with the fuel control switches.
The fire aboard Air India Flight AI 315 highlights the urgent need for increased security precautions and regulatory oversight in India’s aviation sector.