2023 Air India engine shutdown prompted expanded inspections by GE Aerospace: DGCA

The DGCA told the Central Information Commission that a 2023 Air India Boeing 787-8 engine shutdown led GE Aerospace to expand borescope inspection requirements for affected engines. The regulator said compliance was completed within the prescribed timeline following the investigation

New Delhi: The 2023 in-flight shutdown of an engine on an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft prompted manufacturer GE Aerospace to expand borescope inspection requirements for affected engines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told the Central Information Commission (CIC).

The disclosure came before the CIC in an RTI case concerning action taken by the aviation regulator after the final investigation report on the uncommanded shutdown of Engine No.1 of Air India’s Boeing B787-8 aircraft VT-ANW in Mumbai on August 4, 2023.

---

The applicant had sought to know whether action was initiated against Air India and whether the airline was directed to conduct safety checks on its B787-8 fleet. The DGCA told the commission that after the acceptance of the final investigation report, it was forwarded to the Directorate of Airworthiness for necessary action.

The regulator further said that GE Aerospace issued service bulletin SB 72-0543 on December 21, 2023, “expanding the borescope inspection requirements for the affected engines, including additional engine serial numbers”. It said compliance with the bulletin “was completed within the prescribed timeline” and the Directorate of Airworthiness had “treated the recommended corrective action as duly complied with”. Queries sent to GE Aerospace and Air India remained unanswered.

The final investigation report said the aircraft, operating Air India flight AI-131 from Mumbai to London’s Heathrow Airport with 267 people on board, suffered an engine surge followed by an in-flight shutdown during the climb.

The aircraft returned to Mumbai, where it made an overweight landing on a single engine, without any injuries. The report found that an HPC Stage-10 blade was released due to improper installation of locking lugs, leading to the engine surge and the subsequent shutdown. Its findings stated that the blade release was due to “improper installation of the locking lugs in 2018”.

The CIC case arose after the DGCA’s central public information officer (CPIO), in his initial response, informed the applicant that the final investigation report was available on the regulator’s website, but denied the remaining information under section 8(1)(d) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The applicant had also argued before the commission that the matter was of “considerable public importance” in view of subsequent incidents involving similar aircraft, including the 2025 Air India AI-171 incident in Ahmedabad.

The commission found fault with the response, observing that the applicant had sought information on action taken based on the investigation report, “not merely the contents of the report itself”. However, it took note of the DGCA’s subsequent written submissions and was “satisfied” that the regulator had furnished the action-taken information available on its records. The CIC directed the DGCA to provide a copy of its written submissions to the applicant and submit a compliance report thereafter.