NEW DELHI: For the second time in exactly 10 days, a new Airbus A350 (VT-JRF) of Air India with over 300 people on board could not complete its long haul journey short due to turbulence, excessive vibration and noise in the belly hold section. The latest instance happened on Thursday when it was operating as AI 111 from Delhi to London. This issue recurred when the aircraft was in Oman airspace. The airline then decided to call it back to Delhi, where it returned after flying for over seven hours. While the airline is in touch with Airbus for this issue with a new plane, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the issue.The exact same issue happened on March 16 when VT-JRF was flying from New York to Delhi and it had to be diverted to Shannon in Ireland. The aircraft had then remained grounded there for checks as suggested by Airbus. After completing the Airbus-suggested checks and taking the steps as per the original equipment manufacturer, the plane had flown to Dehi on March 19. It had since operated 10 flights on Delhi-London-Delhi and Delhi-New York (via Rome) routes till the problem struck again on Thursday.About the latest issue, a DGCA official said: “Air India A350 aircraft VT-JRF operating flight AI 111 (returned to Delhi) due to excessive noise issue experienced by the flight crew. The aircraft turned back from near OMAN airspace. Earlier the same issue was encountered on this aircraft while operating flight AI 102 (New York (JFK)-Delhi) on March 16. Then maintenance/inspection was carried out on the aircraft in consultation with Airbus and no deficiency was observed. Since then the aircraft has flown 10 sectors without any abnormality. Officers from airworthiness and air safety directorate will investigate the aircraft.”
Poll
Do you think current safety measures in commercial flights are adequate?
About Thursday return, an AI spokesperson said: “AI 111 returned to Delhi as a precautionary measure after a suspected technical issue was identified. A non‑specific vibration was felt in the cabin, though the flight deck indications remained normal. In an abundance of caution, the flight crew elected to return to Delhi, where the aircraft landed safely. The aircraft is currently undergoing thorough technical checks in accordance with Air India’s stringent safety protocols. Air India’s ground teams in Delhi are providing full assistance to passengers and crew, including refreshments and all necessary support.”“Air India regrets the inconvenience caused and is making every effort to facilitate passengers’ onward travel to London at the earliest possible opportunity. The aircraft had earlier undergone detailed inspections by Air India’s Engineering team and was subsequently cleared for operation by Airbus technical specialists. It had been operating normally ever since. . The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew remain Air India’s highest priority,” the spokesperson added.On Thursday, the Airbus A350-900 had taken off from Delhi at 5.42 am and it returned to IGIA at 12.51 pm.
