New Delhi : The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday launched an investigation into the uncommanded mid-air deployment of the emergency turbine. Ram Air Turbine (RAT), on an Air India Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft operating from Amritsar to Birmingham. The plane, AI 117, had made a safe landing in Birmingham.
The RAT system is a tiny fan-like device that deploys automatically when an aircraft loses power, usually in cases where all engines stop running. The fan uses the incoming wind to generate emergency power. However, as per standard operating procedures, the aircraft has been grounded for detailed inspection. Boeing (the manufacturer of Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft) recommended maintenance actions for uncommanded RAT deployment have been carried out and no discrepancy has been observed. The aircraft is being released for service, the DGCA added.
The DGCA’s air safety department will probe the issue and an officer from the Directorate of Air Safety has been assigned for this investigation. The same aircraft model, Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, was earlier involved in the Ahmedabad plane crash in June this year, in which the RAT had also deployed. The interim probe report in that case found that a fuel supply cutoff led to engine shutdowns, triggering the emergency mechanism.
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