The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered Air India to reinspect the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) stowage space on specific Boeing 787 aircraft, following an incident of uncommanded deployment of the emergency device. The incident occurred on October 4, 2025, during the landing of an Air India Amritsar-Birmingham flight (AI117) when the RAT deployed at a height of 400 feet.
The DGCA's directive follows a letter from the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), urging the grounding of all Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Air India for detailed inspection of their electrical systems. The pilots' body cited two recent malfunctions in Boeing 787 aircraft, including the RAT deployment and a separate incident where an Air India Vienna-Delhi flight was diverted to Dubai due to a technical snag. The FIP has also requested a special audit of the airline's maintenance practices.
The uncommanded RAT deployment has raised concerns, particularly because a similar deployment occurred before the fatal crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, which resulted in 260 fatalities. A preliminary report indicated that the fuel control switches for the engines were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position moments before impact in the June crash, effectively cutting off fuel supply to the engines. The RAT system activated as designed when the plane lost power and engine thrust.
The DGCA has requested Air India to review the work package of 'D' Check, a comprehensive maintenance check, whenever the Power Conditioning Module (PCM) is changed. The PCM supplies power to the digital systems responsible for activating the RAT. Air India has been directed to reinspect the RAT stowage in aircraft where the PCM module has been recently replaced.
In addition to directing Air India to take action, the DGCA has requested a comprehensive report from Boeing outlining the preventive measures being implemented to address the uncommanded RAT deployment issue. The regulator has also asked Boeing to submit any service difficulty reports received from aircraft operators worldwide after a change in the PCM module.
