Air India terminates two flight attendants amid Boeing 787 door investigation

Investigation confirms manual mode activation, Disproving malfunction claims on Mumbai-London flight AI-129

New Delhi:Air India on Friday confirmed the termination of two senior flight attendants for their “misconduct and behaviour and continuing to falsify critical information during the course of an investigation.” This action comes after reports that the cabin crew members refused to change their statement regarding a technical glitch in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner door.

The investigation was launched following an incident on May 14 last year, when an emergency slide was activated while opening the aircraft door post landing after Mumbai-London flight AI-129 docked at Heathrow airport. According to Air India, relevant data, images, video evidence, and assessments by third-party experts clearly established that the emergency slide could not have been activated unless the door was in disarmed/manual mode.

---

Media reports stated that the two former flight attendants had asserted that the Boeing Dreamliner’s door malfunctioned, causing the slide raft to deploy even though it was opened in “manual mode.” However, reports further noted that slide rafts deploy only when a door is opened in “armed” or “automatic mode.” Air India also mentioned that the terminated employees were given multiple fair opportunities to reconsider their statements.

Air India’s statement added, “it is regrettable that the former cabin crew members are using the tragedy of AI171 to further repeat their falsehood which has been clearly established in our investigation.”

In a related development, the Ministry of Civil Aviation clarified that no decision has yet been taken on sending abroad the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) or the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) of the crashed AI171 flight for retrieval and analysis. The ministry urged all stakeholders to refrain from speculation on such sensitive matters and to allow the investigative process to proceed with the seriousness and professionalism it warrants.