Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 5: In a major incident involving an Air India plane, Ram Air Turbine, which is usually used in case of engine failures, got deployed without any command from a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft a few minutes before landing at the Birmingham airport on Saturday, according to officials.
Aviation watchdog DGCA is probing the incident involving aircraft VT-ANO operating the flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham on October 4.
The plane landed safely, the officials said on Sunday.
Generally, RAT gets deployed automatically in the eventuality of a dual engine failure or electrical/electronic or hydraulic failure, among others.
It uses wind speed to generate emergency power.
The incident has also raised safety concerns, with the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) urging DGCA to carry out thorough checks and investigate the electrical system of all Boeing 787 aircraft in the country.
The deployment of RAT also assumes significance against the backdrop of the crash of an Air India Dreamliner soon after take-off from Ahmedabad that killed 260 people on June 12.
After the fatal accident also, concerns were raised in some quarters about the safety of Dreamliners and some reports had suggested that RAT was deployed prior to the crash, which happened soon after take-off. (PTI)
