Another Fuel Switch Issue on Air India Boeing 787, Still Departs on 10-Hour Flight
An Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from London and completed a 10-hour flight to Bengaluru despite the pilot encountering a fuel control switch malfunction during engine start. This indicates a decision was made to proceed with a long-haul international flight even after a critical cockpit control exhibited abnormal behaviour before takeoff, and less than a year after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash near Ahmedabad caused by a similar issue.
Why India’s Charter Aviation Rules Need Urgent Institutional Reform
A fatal plane crash near Baramati on January 28 killed Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others during a chartered flight operated by a private aviation company. The incident demands an examination of whether India’s aviation system contains the structural safeguards found in more developed regulatory environments.
Can Long-Haul Flights Be Safe With Fewer Pilots and Longer Shifts?
The aviation regulator’s decision to extend duty hours for pilots flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a wide-body aircraft used for long international flights, has direct safety implications for passengers. The decision ignores key fatigue-related risks that global regulators and airlines are actively trying to reduce, and it does so at a time when the aircraft in question already has limitations affecting pilot rest during flight.