Fresh Emergency Landing Raises Questions About Air India’s Technical Oversight and Internal Rift

A serious technical snag forced an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai to make an emergency landing in Kolkata, where all passengers were safely deboarded. The aircraft reportedly suffered engine issues mid-air, prompting the diversion. While repairs are underway on the runway in Kolkata, concerns about Air India’s maintenance and internal functioning are mounting.Adding to the controversy, a former Deputy General Manager of Air India has alleged that internal factionalism and questionable post-merger staffing decisions have severely affected the airline’s engineering integrity. She pointed out that after the Tata Group took over and merged various airline units like Vistara, AirAsia, and Air India, key engineering responsibilities were taken away from highly experienced personnel and outsourced to newer, less experienced teams and third-party agencies, including Turkish Technic.She further claimed that internal rivalry, especially among groups from different airline backgrounds, has affected critical operations. She emphasized that technical teams must be led by experienced professionals to avoid potentially fatal errors, citing recent incidents that indicate systemic failures.Currently, Boeing and the Civil Aviation Ministry are jointly investigating the Ahmedabad runway incident, while aviation safety experts await data from the aircraft's black box to determine the root cause of these recurring technical issues