Tension as Another Air India Aircraft Plunges 900 Feet During Takeoff

• Tragedy was averted by the Delhi-Vienna Boeing 777 Air India aircraft operating as AI 187 after 38 hours of the June 12 crash
• Recall that the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad resulted in at least 265 deaths, including passengers and locals on the ground
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has commenced an investigation following the second serious safety scare

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues

An Air India airplane - Delhi-Vienna Boeing 777 aircraft operating as AI 187 experienced multiple critical in-flight warnings shortly after takeoff.

The safety scare happened within 38 hours of the June 12 crash that killed over 240 people in Ahmedabad.

According to The Economic Times, the second serious safety scare occurred at 2:56 am on June 14.

The plane flew through severe thunderstorm conditions over the national capital, according to a report by ToI.

The flight ultimately landed safely in Vienna in the Austria capital after 9 hours and 8 minutes.

The wide-body aircraft, registered VT-ALJ, received a stall warning, along with two “don’t sink” cautions from the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), alerting the crew to an abnormal loss in altitude.

It was gathered that officials confirmed that the aircraft dropped approximately 900 feet during initial climb.

Air India: DGCA commences investigation

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has commenced an investigation following the near-disaster incident.

Both pilots have been taken off flying duty, and the airline’s head of safety has been summoned for questioning.

According to officials, the crew received a stick shaker alert — a severe warning that violently shakes the flight controls and warns of an impending aerodynamic stall.

This system is designed to immediately draw the pilots’ attention and demand corrective action.

Officials familiar with the incident told ToI that:

“The aircraft was involved in an inflight occurrence of stick shaker and GPWS caution. Soon after takeoff, stick shaker warning and GPWS don’t sink caution appeared. The stall warning came once, and GPWS caution came twice. There was an altitude loss of around 900 feet during climb. Subsequently, the crew recovered the aircraft and continued the flight to Vienna.”

Air India flight returns to airport after burning smell

Recall that Air India Flight AI 639 from Mumbai to Chennai made an unexpected return to Mumbai Airport after a burning smell was detected in the cabin.

The precautionary return occurred after the burning smell was noticed on Friday, and the plane landed safely at the airport.

A passenger on the flight shared details about the return, as authorities shared what happened after the flight returned to the airport.

Air India disaster: Seven reasons plane crashes happen

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that airplane crashes are the most fatal and deadly among accidents in any means of transportation in the world.

Recall that Air India's London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off on 12 June from Ahmedabad airport.

In this article, Legit.ng discussed the most common causes of airplane crashes and accidents around the world.

Source: Legit.ng