News Brief
Air India's Birmingham Bound Plane Lands Safely After Mid-Air Ram Air Turbine Deployment
Air India Flight from Amritsar to Birmingham Makes Safe Landing Amid Technical Incident
The crew of Air India’s flight AI117, operating from Amritsar to Birmingham, detected an unexpected deployment of the Boeing 787’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT) during the final approach, the airline said on Saturday (4 October), reported NDTV.
“All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal, and the aircraft performed a safe landing at Birmingham,” Air India stated.
The RAT is designed to deploy automatically in the event of a dual engine failure or a total loss of electrical or hydraulic systems.
It uses wind energy to generate emergency power and hydraulic pressure, ensuring critical aircraft functions remain operational.
Following the incident, Air India grounded the aircraft for inspection and cancelled the Birmingham–Delhi flight.
This marks another safety concern for the airline this year.
On 12 June, Air India’s Boeing 787-8 operating flight AI171 crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including 241 onboard.
The preliminary report by the Air India Safety Board (AIB) in July revealed that the engine fuel control switches of the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 plane were cut off seconds after lift-off, with one of the pilots asking the other why he cut off, and the latter responding saying he did not do so.
