Air India has de-rostered a pilot for hard landing an A320 Kochi-Dubai flight on December 20 even though all passengers remained safe but the aircraft was grounded for a week before it could fly to the airline’s engineering base in Mumbai, two officials aware of the matter said.
An airline spokesperson said an investigation has been initiated as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation norms while maintaining the pilot was appropriately trained and licensed to fly the aircraft. “He has been off-rostered till the process of inquiry is on as per norms,” said the spokesperson.
Aviation expert Captain Shakti Lumba on X blamed expediting of pilot training for the hard landing. “..The Captain [of the Kochi-Dubai] was one from the batch of wide-body co-pilots directly promoted as Captains on the Airbus…Passengers refused to deplane till the Captain apologised…”
An official said the A320, which did not suffer any structural damages, was grounded for extensive checks in Dubai. A pilot, requesting anonymity, said the aircraft is not an old one and that is why it may have remained unaffected. Hard landings can damage the landing gear.
Autos-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group took over Air India in January 2022. It has sought to upgrade the airline’s ageing fleet and improve its service levels as part of its efforts to increase its market share to 30% on domestic as well as international routes by 2027.
