A special audit of airlines, maintenance teams and other aspects carried out by the aviation watchdog at airports like Delhi and Mumbai has revealed several deficiencies, including reported defects reappearing on aircraft, life vests not being properly secured under seats, and the line marking of a runway being faded.
On June 19, a week after an Air India Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, killing over 270 people, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had launched a new framework for Comprehensive Special Audits to identify systemic vulnerabilities and ensure that policies and standards set by it as well as the International Civil Aviation Organisation are being followed.
As part of this, a “comprehensive surveillance” was carried out at major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai, covering critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, air traffic control, Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations, the DGCA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The DGCA did not reveal the names of the airlines, maintenance firms or airports, but said a domestic flight of a carrier had been held up due to worn tyres, a simulator did not match the aircraft configuration, and the work order was not followed for maintenance of aircraft.
“(There were) multiple cases wherein the reported defects reappeared many times on the aircraft indicating the ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification action on the defects/ repeated defects… ground handling equipment such as baggage trollies were found unserviceable… safety precautions found not taken by AME (aircraft maintenance engineering),” the DGCA statement said.
“Similarly, at an airport, centre line marking of runway was observed faded; The rapid exit taxiway, green centre light were not unidirectional; the obstruction limitation data has not been updated for last three years and no survey has been performed despite many new construction around the vicinity of aerodrome; (a) number of vehicles in the ramp area were found without speed governors,” it said.
In some cases, defect reports generated by the aircraft system were not found recorded in the technical logbook and, in one instance, the corrosion-resistant tape on the right-hand side winglet’s lower blade was found damaged.
The operators responsible for correcting the defects have been asked to do so within seven days and, the DGCA said, the comprehensive surveillance process will continue in the future as well.
