Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday said that there is a need to do an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 Series planes following the fatal crash of the Air India flight. He added that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been given an order to conduct extended surveillance on the Boeing 787 Series planes.
In his first briefing after the Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad, Naidu said that there are 34 Boeing 787 Series planes in the Indian aircraft fleet and inspections of 8 have already been conducted with immediate urgency.
“We have very strict safety standards in the country…When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done,” ANI quoted Naidu as saying.
Civil Aviation Minister Naidu mentioned that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team is decoding the black box of the crashed 787-8 Dreamliner. He added that the AAIB believes that decoding the black box might provide in-depth insight into what happened moments before the crash.
“The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give a, in depth insight into what would have actually happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report is going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation,” ANI quoted Naidu as saying.
The Minister expressed that it is very heart-wrenching to hear stories of the people who have lost their lives. He added that the Central government has instructed Air India to facilitate the process of assisting the families of the passengers in whatever way is needed.
“It is very heart-wrenching to see the stories of the people who have lost their lives… We have instructed Air India to facilitate the process of assisting the families of the passengers in whatever way is required. The DNA testing is also happening on one side so that the bodies can be identified and given to the respective families. The government of Gujarat is coordinating with that,” ANI quoted Naidu as saying.
Air India flight AI171 crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad barely a minute after takeoff from the airport on Thursday.
Air India has confirmed that 169 Indian nationals, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national, and 7 Portuguese nationals were killed in the plane crash. One person survived the accident and is currently under medical observation.