Air India will begin inspection of its six Boeing 787 Dreamliners from next Tuesday once it receives guidelines from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Air India has six Boeing 787s which were grounded on Thursday following an emergency air worthiness directive from the FAA. The planes will be back in service only after being cleared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
According to AI sources Boeing is expected to send inspection guidelines also called service bulletin to FAA. The FAA approved guidelines are expected by Tuesday, source said.
Each Boeing 787 has two batteries and the inspection will be carried out at Air India hangar in Mumbai to examine if there is a flaw or manufacturing defect in them. A source said that it will take 24 hours to inspect batteries in each plane and findings will be shared with the DGCA and the FAA. If there is no defect the planes will be redeployed upon receiving a clearance from the regulator. However if a defect is found the batteries may need replacement and that will delay restoration of Boeing 787 operations, he added.
Air India flew Boeing 787s on three domestic and three international routes. The airline is deploying a Boeing 747-400 plane on Delhi-Dubai route and is clubbing the Paris and Frankfurt flights using a Boeing 777.
Air India has about 80 pilots who are trained to fly the Boeing 787. With the Boeing 787 grounded the airline will have to deploy Boeing 777s on Frankfurt and Paris routes and Airbus A320 for its domestic flights. The pilots from 787 fleet can not be utilised to fly an another aircraft type unless they undergo refresher course (simulator training and route checks) for the particular plane (Boeing 777 for instance).
FAA issued the emergency directives following two incidents involving a lithium ion battery in the plane. "The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes. The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment," FAA said in a release.
Last Friday, the FAA announced a comprehensive review of the 787’s critical systems with the possibility of further action pending new data and information. In addition to the continuing review of the aircraft’s design, manufacture and assembly, the agency also will validate that 787 batteries and the battery system on the aircraft are in compliance with the special condition the agency issued as part of the aircraft’s certification.