Just over a day after a deadly Air India crash in Ahmedabad killed more than 260 people, another flight from the same airline nearly met the same fate.
On 14 June, Flight AI187 from Delhi to Vienna dropped nearly 900 feet right after takeoff and triggered multiple emergency warnings in the cockpit. The Boeing 777 had taken off at 2:56 a.m. in stormy weather when it suddenly lost altitude, setting off both a “stall warning” and a “don’t sink” alert—signals that the plane was in serious danger of crashing.
These aren’t routine warnings. A stall means the aircraft is losing lift and could fall from the sky. A “don’t sink” alert from the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) means the aircraft is descending dangerously close to the ground. Either one can be fatal if not handled immediately.
An aviation official told The Times of India: “The aircraft was involved in an inflight occurrence of stick shaker and GPWS caution. Soon after takeoff, stick shaker warning and GPWS don’t sink caution appeared. Stall warning came once and GPWS caution came twice.”
The crew managed to recover the aircraft, and the flight continued to Vienna. But the near-miss has triggered a major investigation. Both pilots have been suspended from duty while India’s aviation regulator—the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)—reviews what happened. Air India’s head of safety has also been summoned.
Shockingly, the initial report filed by the crew only mentioned a “stick shaker due to turbulence.” It left out the much more serious stall and “don’t sink” warnings. These were only discovered later after a deeper analysis of the aircraft’s flight data recorder.
Following the incident, the DGCA has launched a detailed probe and ordered extra safety checks on Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. Air India has also slashed its international wide-body flight operations by 15% to make room for those inspections.
An airline spokesperson said: “Upon receipt of the pilot’s report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft’s recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation.”
This is the second serious safety incident involving Air India in less than two days. The first—Flight AI171—crashed in Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing hundreds. The preliminary crash report for that disaster is expected by 11 July.
