The junior civil aviation minister Murlidhar Mohol informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday, nine show cause notices were issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations.
“During the last six months, a total of nine show case notices have been issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations. Enforcement action has been completed in respect of one violation,” the junior minister stated in a written reply to questions raised by the CPM Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas.
Brittas had asked the government whether any notices or communications were issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation or other authorities against Air India regarding the safety, reliability or flightworthiness of its flights, including periodical maintenance, operations or about its crew.
An Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London, crashed into a building shortly after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, killing all but one of the 242 people on board, and 19 others on the ground.
Replying to a question on the probable reasons behind one of the worst air crashes in recent times, the MoS civil aviation said, the investigation to determine the probable causes or contributory factors leading to the accident were being determined by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The first report by the AAIB released over a week ago stated the Engine 1 switch was moved to cut-off about three seconds after lift-off and the Engine 2 switch, a second later.
There has been much speculation over the factors behind the crash.
Responding to another supplementary question on the particular aircraft which crashed, Mohol replied: “During the last six months, no adverse trend has been reported in reliability reports of Air India in respect of crashed aircraft.”
Brittas said, “While the government has stated that the investigation to determine the cause of the accident is still in progress, the reply also reveals that nine show-cause notices were issued to Air India for five identified safety violations in just the last six months, with enforcement action completed in only one case. This raises serious concerns about lax enforcement despite repeated violations.”