India’s civil aviation regulator has ordered enhanced inspections of Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft models following the tragic crash of Air India’s Ahmedabad-London flight.

businessline first reported on Thursday that the regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) was exploring the possibility of having all the Boeing 787s in service checked once before any further flight operations.

On Friday, the regulator directed Air India to conduct enhanced safety inspections on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft fleet, equipped with ‘GenX’ engines.

Besides, the DGCA mandated additional maintenance actions to ensure the airworthiness and safety of the fleet.

As per the DGCA order, effective June 15, 2025, Air India will conduct one-time checks before departure from India, including inspections of ‘fuel parameter monitoring,’ ‘cabin air compressor,’ ‘electronic engine control,’ ‘engine fuel-driven actuator,’ and ‘hydraulic system,’ as well as a review of take-off parameters.

Furthermore, Air India will implement ‘flight control inspections’ during transit until further notice and carry out power assurance checks within two weeks.

Additionally, the airline is required to review and address recurring snags on its B787-8 or -9 aircraft reported in the last 15 days.

“The report of the checks is to be submitted to DGCA for review,” the DGCA order said.

Blackbox recovered

In another development, sources on Friday said that aircraft accident investigators recovered the ‘black box’ from the site of the crash.

The investigators from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with assistance from the State government, recovered the ‘black box’ from the roof of a building at the crash site.

“The DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder) has been recovered from a rooftop,” sources said.

“AAIB began its work with full force immediately. Over 40 State government employees joined in the effort to locate the black box. They augment MoCA teams on-site.

“This marks an important step forward in the investigation. This will significantly aid the enquiry into the incident,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on his social media handle on X (formerly Twitter).

Apart from the formal investigation initiated by the AAIB in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the government constituted a high-level committee comprising experts from multiple disciplines to examine the matter in detail.

“The committee will work to strengthen aviation safety and prevent such incidents in the future,” he had said on his social media handle on Thursday.

Previously, whistleblowers in the US had alleged manufacturing defects in Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and the risk it posed as the airplanes’ airframes aged.

However, these allegations were later discovered to be unfounded, as cases based on them were later settled in favour of Boeing.

Published on June 13, 2025