GS3 – Infrastructure
Context:
The Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad (June 2025) has brought to light the systemic deficiencies in India’s civil aviation safety ecosystem. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) vague preliminary report highlighted issues such as lack of transparency, infrastructural decay, and prioritisation of profits over safety.
Key Systemic Deficiencies
Aircraft Certification and Oversight
- The DGCA lacks in-house technical expertise, depending heavily on foreign regulators like the FAA (USA) and EASA (Europe).
- The Pratt & Whitney engine crisis (2017–18) showcased India’s slow and reactive response, underlining the need for internal competency in airworthiness evaluation.
Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs) work with minimal infrastructure and without duty-hour limits.
- To cut costs, airlines often outsource critical functions to less-qualified personnel.
- Recommendations from the 2010 Mangaluru crash regarding AME working hours remain unimplemented.
Pilot and Crew Fatigue
- Flight Time Duty Limitations (FTDL) are routinely violated, with DGCA-sanctioned exemptions enabling overworked pilots to fly.
- Mental health support is lacking due to punitive repercussions, leading to underreporting.
- Cabin crew continue to be treated as hospitality staff rather than safety-critical professionals.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) Gaps
- There is an acute shortage of Air Traffic Controller Officers (ATCOs), which impacts real-time aviation safety.
- Proposals on ATCO duty-hour regulation and licensing have seen little follow-up despite judicial and committee urgings.
Regulatory Failures and Conflicts
- The DGCA’s lack of independence from airlines compromises regulatory enforcement.
- Embedded personnel often lack authority, leading to ineffective compliance checks.
Obstruction Hazards
- Mumbai airspace remains hazardous, with over 1,000 vertical violations breaching the Inner Horizontal Surface (IHS) zone.
- Height relaxations granted and regularised under 2015 rules reflect regulatory capture and administrative indifference.
Judiciary’s Role and Its Limits
- Public Interest Litigations (PILs) have occasionally averted disasters (e.g., Ghatkopar crash, 2018).
- However, courts often defer to technical agencies, resulting in limited scrutiny.
- The relatively low valuation of human life in India weakens the urgency for expensive but necessary safety upgrades.
Way Forward – Building a ‘Culture of Safety’
- Institutional Overhaul:
Empower the DGCA with autonomy, technical capabilities, and reduce dependency on external regulators. - Enforce Safety Directives:
Implement post-crash recommendations with time-bound accountability. - Whistle-blower Support:
Create secure, non-retaliatory systems for reporting safety violations. - Regulate Work Hours:
Strictly enforce duty-hour norms for pilots, ATCOs, and AMEs to mitigate fatigue risks. - Independent Oversight:
Set up a neutral body to monitor all airport-adjacent constructions for safety compliance. - Transparency Mandate:
Publish investigation reports of all air crashes promptly with clear timelines and public access.