Experts blame Air India's poor maintenance

Mumbai: The ground staffer, who helped avert a major tragedy involving an Air India Boeing on Friday, alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) soon after he spotted fuel spilling from the left wing. The ATC in turn sounded an alarm to the pilot asking him to turn the engine off. In a fraction of a second, flames and smoke flared from the engine.
"Although the pilot had immediately turned the engine off, the heat generated started a fire. The pilot promptly started the evacuation process by letting down the flight chutes,'' said an official, adding that the fire was big enough to not only cause panic among the passengers, but also alarm officials. Fortunately, the airport fire station was located only a stone's throw away from the site and four fire vehicles reached within a minute to get the fire under control.
"It could have been a major disaster if the aircraft had taken off. The situation was brought under control due to timely detection,'' said a senior airport official. Air safety experts say that the oil-spilling, which snowballed into a big fire, reflects the poor maintenance standards of the airline. "This clearly shows that maintenance is being compromised. The aircraft are prepared without carrying out maintenance as per the manufacturer's guidelines,'' said aviation expert, captain R Rangnathan.
05/08/09 Times of India

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2009, Airports Sep 2009, NACIL Sep 2009, Safety Sep 2009