The Directorate Basic of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded an Air India plane after discovering a severe lapse throughout a routine audit — an overdue inspection of the plane’s emergency slide system.
The aviation regulator took instant motion, barring the plane from operation till the required rectification was accomplished.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, on Monday, by a written response, advised Rajya Sabha, ‘Through the audit of Air India, the Directorate Basic of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has discovered that the inspection of the emergency slide was overdue.
DGCA instantly grounded the plane until the required rectification was carried out. DGCA has initiated enforcement motion towards Air India and its accountable personnel as per the Enforcement Coverage and Process Handbook of DGCA.
The minister’s response was to DMK member Tiruchi Siva’s question on whether or not Authorities is conscious that plane operated by Air India, within the weeks previous the crash of Flight-171 in June 2025, had been allowed to fly with overdue emergency slide inspections, in violation of obligatory security norms, and if that’s the case, the accountability that has been fastened on DGCA for regulatory oversight failure.
In response to the query of whether or not any efficiency audit of DGCA’s enforcement actions during the last 5 years has been undertaken in circumstances of repeat violations, the Minister stated, ‘In 2022, the Worldwide Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) carried out the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) audit of DGCA India.
As per the ICAO evaluation, the efficient implementation rating of India is 85.65.
On whether or not DGCA’s enforcement mechanisms are resourced to deal with technical non-compliance in a well timed method, Mohol stated, “DGCA ensures the compliance by airways with all security and upkeep requirements by the mechanism of conducting surveillance, spot checks, night time surveillance, and so forth., of the airways. and its personnel.
In case of violation, DGCA takes enforcement motion in accordance with procedures prescribed within the Enforcement Coverage and Process Handbook.
The enforcement motion consists of warning, suspension, and cancellation, together with imposition of a monetary penalty on the airways/personnel. DGCA officers are effectively educated to carry out the oversight and enforcement perform”.
