Air India has grounded one of its Boeing 787s after the ram air turbine unexpectedly (and needlessly) deployed when the plane was on short final for Birmingham Airport in the U.K. on Saturday. The airline said the aircraft, on its way from Amritsar, continued the approach. “The operating crew of flight AI-117 from Amritsar to Birmingham detected deployment of the ram air turbine during its final approach,” the airline said in a statement. “All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal and the aircraft performed a safe landing.”
The RAT normally drops when the aircraft experiences a dual engine failure or complete electrical or hydraulic failure. The airline’s pilots association is asking for a thorough investigation of the cause of the anomaly in light of the RAT deployment on an Air India 787 that crashed just after taking off from Ahmedabad in early June, killing 241 of the 242 on board. Although a dual engine failure resulting from the fuel cutoff switches being moved is part of the investigation, the electrical and hydraulics systems are also being probed in that case and the pilots want their regulator, the DGCA, to look more carefully at those systems. The aircraft was taken out of service and return flight passengers booked on other flights.
“The airline’s pilots association is asking for a thorough investigation of the cause of the anomaly in light of the RAT deployment on an Air India 787 that crashed just after taking off from Ahmedabad in early June, killing 241 of the 242 on board.”
Something about the wording of that statement smells awfully much as bad as does a rotten red herring. Yes the anomaly should be investigated. Period. However If ALPA insists on an investigationin light of anything at all besides the fact that the RAT deployed, it should be investigated in light of yet another Air India operational anomaly.
ALPA?
Thanks for the correction. Sorry I read it wrong. The reference is to “the airline’s pilot association “, not ALPA. I stand by the rest of my comment.