112 Air India Pilots Took Sick Leave Four Days After Boeing 787 Crash In Ahmedabad

On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killing 241 people out of 242 onboard, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

Representative image. (Photo: IANS)

A total of 112  Air India pilots, including 51 commanders and 61 first officers, went on sick leave four days after a Boeing 787-Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people,  Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said on Thursday. 

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said this in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Minister Mohol was responding to an unstarred question raised by MP Jai Prakash concerning reports of mass sick leave among Air India flight crew following the incident.

Responding to concerns about the mental well-being of the flight crew, the Minister said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had already issued a circular in February 2023 with detailed guidelines on mental health support for flight crews and Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs).

These include easy and quick mental health checks by DGCA-approved medical examiners during regular medical exams. Special training modules to help crew and ATCOs understand and deal with mental health challenges. A Peer Support Programme (PSP) that allows employees to seek help in a safe and supportive manner without fear of punishment.

Earlier, on July 21, answering a question about the probe into the AI-171 crash, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu that the decoding of the Black Box had occurred in India for the first time.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Naidu said, "First set of the probe is done and a preliminary report is out. Earlier, whenever Black Box had slight damage, the black box used to be sent to the manufacturer for decoding. For the first time, the decoding of the Black Box has happened in India."

Lauding the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Naidu said that the agency is "unbiased." 

On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a hostel complex of BJ Medical College in the Meghani Nagar area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The tragedy claimed 241 lives out of 242 onboard, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

(With ANI Inputs)