Air India Dreamliner forced into emergency landing after pilots hear 'loud thud'

 An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing in 2023 after a terrifying mid-air engine failure. The plane was forced to turn back an hour into its 14-hour flight two years ago between Mumbai and London, according to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Pilots in charge of the August 2023 flight reported hearing a 'loud thud' immediately before the left engine lost power following poor maintenance. The sole survivor of the Air India flight 171 air disaster last Thursday, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, reported hearing a 'loud noise' from his seat, 11A, which was near the Boeing Dreamliner's left engine.

In the case of the 2023 flight, investigators said the left engine failed after a turbine blade broke loose because it was incorrectly bolted. The “release” of the high-pressure compressor blade “had occurred due to improper installation of locking lugs of HPC Stage 10,” their report concluded.

Indian parliamentarians also expressed concern three months ago when the DGCA was found to have less than half the staff in place. A report by the Indian parliament's transport committee found of 1,633 available posts only 754 were filled – leaving 879 vacancies, with officials saying they had “fundamental concerns”.

“The committee notes with serious concern the high number of vacancies across key aviation regulatory and operational bodies, particularly in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and the Airports Authority of India,” the report said.

“'The DGCA, responsible for aviation safety and regulatory oversight, has a vacancy rate exceeding 53 per cent, raising fundamental concerns about its capacity to enforce aviation safety standards effectively.” The fact that nearly 35 per cent of jobs at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security were also unfilled meant that the state of oversight was “posing risks to the robustness of security oversight at airports,” the report said.

The Airports Authority of India, tasked with overseeing critical airport infrastructure and air traffic services, said the unfilled job vacancies were impacting operational efficiency and airport expansion.

“The committee is deeply concerned that chronic understaffing in these institutions could undermine safety, security, and service delivery standards, particularly as air traffic volumes continue to rise,” a spokesman said.

“The committee urges the Ministry of Civil Aviation to expedite the recruitment process to fill vacancies across DGCA, BCAS, and AAI, ensuring that regulatory oversight, security enforcement, and airport operations are not compromised.”

The DGCA issued an order to Air India instructing the company to carry out more inspections of all of its 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft which had General Electric engines including an inspection of the fuel monitoring systems, a test of the electronic engine control, a check of the hydraulics and a review of take‑off parameters. Each airliner was also required to carry out “power assurance checks”.