Air India – Severe Turbulence Raises Questions Over Crew Preparedness

Air India –A severe bout of turbulence on an Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi left 17 people injured on August 5, including four female members of the cabin crew. The incident has prompted aviation experts to examine whether appropriate precautions were taken before the aircraft encountered difficult weather conditions and whether the crew was adequately prepared to handle the situation.

Expert Questions Pilot Decisions

Aviation safety consultant and former Boeing aircraft instructor Captain Mohan Ranganathan described the episode as a case of “very poor airmanship.” He argued that the event should be treated as an accident rather than simply an incident because passengers and crew members sustained injuries.

Ranganathan also questioned whether the cockpit crew had instructed passengers to fasten their seat belts before the aircraft entered the turbulent area. According to him, the injuries suffered by passengers and cabin crew could indicate that adequate precautions may not have been taken.

Training Seen as Key Safety Factor

Drawing on his own flying experience, Ranganathan said pilots require extensive training to deal with severe weather and other challenging conditions. During his career, he recalled operating flights during events including the Chennai cyclone in 1976, a Singapore squall in 1994 and a typhoon in Hong Kong in the same year.

He said that rigorous training, combined with practical experience, helped him make decisions that enabled aircraft to be brought safely through difficult situations. In his view, airlines need to ensure that cockpit crews have sufficient expertise and experience before being assigned demanding operations.

Questions Over Diversion Decision

Ranganathan further raised the question of whether the aircraft should have been diverted to a closer airport after the turbulence. He said that when an aircraft encounters serious difficulties, pilots should assess whether landing at the nearest suitable airport would be safer than continuing to the original destination.

The injuries to four cabin crew members also concerned him. He noted that cabin crew play an important role during an emergency and questioned how they could effectively assist passengers if they themselves were injured and unable to perform their duties.

Weather Monitoring in the Cockpit

The aviation consultant also pointed to the importance of weather information available to pilots during flight. He said cockpit instruments continuously provide atmospheric information that can help crews assess changing conditions and prepare for potentially difficult weather.

Ranganathan said pilots must respond appropriately as an aircraft approaches turbulent conditions and manage the aircraft accordingly. He also referred to the use of the autopilot system and the need for pilots to take appropriate manual control when circumstances require it.

Flight Data Recorder May Provide Answers

Federation of Indian Pilots president Captain C S Randhawa said investigators should first establish whether passengers had been properly warned to fasten their seat belts before the turbulence struck.

Randhawa noted that passengers are generally advised by cabin crew to keep their seat belts loosely fastened even when the aircraft is flying under normal conditions. He said the digital flight data recorder, or DFDR, should provide important information about the aircraft’s movements and the actions taken by the cockpit crew.

The recorder’s data is expected to help investigators establish the sequence of events and determine what precautions were taken before and during the turbulence. A detailed assessment will be necessary before drawing conclusions about the causes of the injuries or the decisions made by the crew.