India’s DGCA orders Air India to inspect emergency power system on some Boeing jets

Dubai: India's aviation regulator has ordered Air India to reinspect emergency power systems across its entire Boeing 787 fleet on which the module was recently replaced, according to a Press Trust of India report.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also asked Boeing to submit a detailed report on how to prevent future incidents involving the Ram Air Turbine—a last-resort emergency system that’s only meant to activate when both engines fail or major systems shut down.

The directive follows an incident on October 4 when Air India flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham experienced automatic deployment of the RAT at approximately 500 feet during descent.

The aircraft landed safely with all systems functioning normally, but the incident raised immediate safety concerns.

"The Aircraft Health Monitoring system picked up a fault of the Bus Power Control Unit, which may have caused the auto deployment of RAT," said GS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, in a letter to regulators.

A Ram Air Turbine is an emergency backup system that deploys from the underside of an aircraft's fuselage when primary power sources fail. As the aircraft moves forward, the air spins a small turbine that generates hydraulic and electrical power for critical flight controls and navigation systems.

The system is designed for life-or-death emergencies—dual-engine failure or total electrical system failure. Its deployment during normal operations signals a potentially serious malfunction.

"This system is rarely used in day-to-day operations and typically activates only when both engines fail or a major systems failure occurs—making its deployment a serious event," the DGCA stated in its advisory.

Furthermore, an Air India flight crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 30, just seconds after take-off, killing all but one of 242 on board. The final report on that incident is still awaited, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Federation of Indian Pilots has urged the Civil Aviation Ministry to conduct a special audit of Air India’s 787 fleet and consider grounding affected aircraft, the PTI said.