Aviation Ministry, DGCA To Look Into Ex-Pilot's Complaint Against Air India Citing Insufficient Oxygen Supply Aboard

The complaint alleged that the carrier operated Boeing 777 planes to the US without meeting the requirements for the mandatory emergency oxygen supply.

The Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA will reportedly look into a complaint against Air India, filed by a former senior pilot. 

The complaint stated that the carrier operated Boeing 777 planes to the US without meeting the requirements for the mandatory emergency oxygen supply, news agency PTI reported citing anonymous sources. 

The report further noted that the pilot, who worked as a commander on the B777 planes, registered a complaint regarding the issue with the ministry and the DGCA on October 29. The pilot in his complaint said, “Air India has been operating flights with leased B777 aircraft that carry a chemically-generated oxygen system which lasts around 12 minutes, and hence should not be used for the airline's direct flights to and from San Francisco.”

The complaint stated that according to the official norms, the airlines have to ensure that in the case of an emergency, there should be sufficient oxygen supply to last all the crew and passengers for longer than 12 minutes, sources revealed. 

The news agency reached out to a senior government official on Friday who stated that the official authorities would look into the complaint. A spokesperson for the airline said, “The matter in question is multi-dimensional and has already been examined by Air India and external experts. We will restrain from offering any comment on this specific case but we wish to reiterate that the safety of our passengers and crew is our foremost priority and there is no compromise on the same.”

The complaint further noted that in the event of depressurisation, “It is mandatory for the aircraft to descend to a flight altitude of 10,000 feet or lower. When flying over high mountainous terrain that could be more than 9,000 to 10,000 feet, it might not be possible to descend to 10,000 feet within 12 minutes. This is because of the requirement of maintaining the minimum flight altitude of more than 10,000 feet for more than 12 minutes to be clear of vast stretches of high mountainous terrain below extending for hundreds of miles.”

The pilot alleged in his complaint that he refused to operate a leased B777 plane for Air India from San Francisco to Bengaluru, earlier in January this year citing the problem with the oxygen system, and he was fired by the airline three months after the incident. The news agency added that they couldn’t get in touch with the pilot.