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What is the story about?
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday met Air India's outgoing Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager Campbell Wilson over an incident involving a Phuket-Delhi flight that reportedly lost about 300 feet of altitude last week, with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu saying aviation safety remained the government's "topmost priority".
The meeting was held to get a direct update from Air India on the incident and understand how the airline was handling the matter, Naidu said.
"We wanted to get a direct update from Air India also on the incident. We wanted to see how they are taking this issue from their side," the minister said.
Naidu said the ministry was treating the incident seriously and wouldn't tolerate compromises on aviation safety, whether by airlines, regulators or other parties.
"I have told time and again that from the Ministry, safety in aviation is the topmost priority. There shouldn't be any compromise from any side — even the regulators or airlines or anyone," he said.
Civil Aviation Secretary Sameer Sinha, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Director General Veer Vikram Yadav and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Director General GVG Yugandhar were among the officials participating in the meeting.
AAIB to continue investigation
Naidu described the meeting with Wilson as a preliminary step to obtain an update from the airline and said the AAIB had been tasked with continuing the investigation.
"We have good confidence in AAIB. So, let's wait for the full-fledged report to come from AAIB so that we can see what action needs to be taken on this," he said.
The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the reported sudden loss of altitude and determine whether there were any safety or operational lapses.
Naidu also said the government was prepared to revisit existing regulations if the investigation raised concerns related to substance use.
"If it is anything related to substance abuse or substance using, I would say that from the Ministry we are taking it very seriously and if we find that there needs to be some tweaking in the existing regulation, we are ready to do that also," he said.
Wilson, who is set to step down as Air India CEO, also serves as the airline's Accountable Manager, a regulatory role carrying responsibility for ensuring that the airline's operations comply with applicable safety requirements.
The meeting comes as aviation authorities continue to examine the incident involving the Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi.
Further details on the circumstances surrounding the reported 300-foot altitude loss are awaited.
The meeting was held to get a direct update from Air India on the incident and understand how the airline was handling the matter, Naidu said.
"We wanted to get a direct update from Air India also on the incident. We wanted to see how they are taking this issue from their side," the minister said.
Naidu said the ministry was treating the incident seriously and wouldn't tolerate compromises on aviation safety, whether by airlines, regulators or other parties.
"I have told time and again that from the Ministry, safety in aviation is the topmost priority. There shouldn't be any compromise from any side — even the regulators or airlines or anyone," he said.
Civil Aviation Secretary Sameer Sinha, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Director General Veer Vikram Yadav and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Director General GVG Yugandhar were among the officials participating in the meeting.
AAIB to continue investigation
Naidu described the meeting with Wilson as a preliminary step to obtain an update from the airline and said the AAIB had been tasked with continuing the investigation.
"We have good confidence in AAIB. So, let's wait for the full-fledged report to come from AAIB so that we can see what action needs to be taken on this," he said.
The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the reported sudden loss of altitude and determine whether there were any safety or operational lapses.
Naidu also said the government was prepared to revisit existing regulations if the investigation raised concerns related to substance use.
"If it is anything related to substance abuse or substance using, I would say that from the Ministry we are taking it very seriously and if we find that there needs to be some tweaking in the existing regulation, we are ready to do that also," he said.
Wilson, who is set to step down as Air India CEO, also serves as the airline's Accountable Manager, a regulatory role carrying responsibility for ensuring that the airline's operations comply with applicable safety requirements.
The meeting comes as aviation authorities continue to examine the incident involving the Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi.
Further details on the circumstances surrounding the reported 300-foot altitude loss are awaited.
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