Mumbai: Air India has reported that the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) on its Amritsar-Birmingham Boeing 787 unexpectedly deployed during the flight’s final approach on October 4, but the aircraft landed safely. The airline made the announcement on Saturday.
The RAT is designed to deploy automatically in the event of a dual-engine failure or total electrical or hydraulic system failure, generating emergency power using wind speed.
Air India said it has cancelled the Birmingham-Delhi flight as the aircraft is grounded for inspection. “The operating crew of flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham on October 4 detected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine during final approach. All electrical and hydraulic parameters were normal, and the aircraft landed safely in Birmingham,” the Tata Group-owned airline stated.
The airline did not disclose the number of passengers onboard but added that alternative arrangements are being made for them.
This incident comes months after a Boeing 787 operated by Air India crashed on June 12, killing 260 people, including 241 onboard, shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating that crash.
In its preliminary report released in July, the AAIB noted that the fuel control switches of the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 were cut off seconds after takeoff, leading to engine deceleration. One pilot reportedly asked the other why the switches were turned off, to which the latter replied he did not do it. Although the switches were re-engaged, the deceleration in one engine could not be reversed.
Boeing, the US manufacturer of the aircraft, has not publicly commented on the June crash, one of the deadliest in India in the past three decades.
