787 Crash: India and Japan Order Inspections, with a Focus on the Aircraft Engines and Systems
India's DGCA imposes specific checks on Air India's GE GEnx engines, while Japan instructs its operators to conduct a general inspection of airframes and engines. US authorities consider grounding the aircraft "premature."
The repercussions of the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner have prompted immediate regulatory actions in Asia. Aviation authorities in India and Japan have ordered safety inspections for their fleets of the model, albeit with markedly different approaches. While Japan mandated a general review, India issued a highly specific directive focusing on the General Electric GEnx engines that powered the crashed aircraft.
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was the most assertive in its requirements. Following the crash of Air India flight AI171, the agency ordered enhanced safety checks for all Air India Boeing 787s equipped with General Electric GEnx engines. The core of the Indian directive lies in a series of engine inspections, which include an electronic engine control system test, an operational test of the fuel-driven actuator, and an oil system check.
Furthermore, the DGCA requires that engine power assurance checks be completed within two weeks. The order also imposes, starting at midnight on June 15, 2025, a one-time mandatory inspection before every departure from India. This check must cover the serviceability of the hydraulic system and flight controls, with the latter inspection now continuously incorporated into transit checks until further notice.
In parallel, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) instructed the country's largest operators, All Nippon Airways (ANA)—the 787's global launch customer—and Japan Airlines (JAL), to inspect the "engines and airframes" of their more than 130 Dreamliners. The measure, though broad, is less prescriptive in its public technical details than the one issued by India.
What engines does the Boeing 787 Dreamliner use?
Airlines can choose between two engine types for the Boeing 787: the General Electric GEnx and the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. The inspection directive from India's DGCA applies specifically to the Air India fleet that uses the GEnx engines, the same type that equipped the crashed aircraft.
These actions are a direct consequence of the June 12 accident, when a Boeing 787-8 (registration VT-ANB) operated by Air India crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad (AMD) en route to London-Gatwick (LGW). The incident resulted in the deaths of 241 of the 242 people on board.
In contrast to the Asian measures, U.S. authorities adopted a more cautious stance. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated it "would be way too premature" to order the grounding of the entire 787 fleet.
Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Chris Rocheleau, assured full cooperation with the investigation, stating, "if there is any information that becomes available to us regarding any risk, we will mitigate those risks immediately.”
The official investigation is being led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India, working with technical support from the U.S. NTSB, the FAA, Boeing, and GE Aerospace. The recovery of one of the recorders is a critical breakthrough in clarifying the causes of the first fatal accident in the Dreamliner's operational history.
AUTOR
Desde 2017, haciendo periodismo aeronáutico. Award-Winning Journalist: Ganador de la edición 2023 de "Periodismo de Altura", otorgado por ALTA. Facts don't care about your feelings.
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