The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) questioned Air India officials as part of an ongoing probe into the deadly Ahmedabad flight crash that killed at least 270 people, including the pilots, crew, passengers and people on the ground.
The doomed flight AI 171 flight, which was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was flown by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience, while Kundar had 1,100 fly hours to his credit.
Air India MD and CEO Campbell Wilson, Director of Flight Operations Captain Pankul Mathur, and Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh were among the executives summoned for the urgent meeting chaired by DG Fazi Ahmed Kidwai on Tuesday evening.
The aviation safety watchdog asked Air India to submit the training records of the pilots and dispatchers for the ill-fated AI 171 flight. Dispatchers are ground-based airline employees who are certified by the DGCA. They are responsible for flight planning as well as assessing weather and airspace conditions.
It also asked the airline to produce details of action taken with regard to DGCA's previous audits.
DGCA also directed all flying schools to conduct training compliance checks as part of a "regulatory" review of the crash, Reuters reported, citing confidential memos.
All Boeing 787 flights departing from India are now required to undergo pre-departure inspections. Air India flight AI 143 form Delhi to Paris was cancelled on Tuesday because of additional precautionary checks. "The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is being presently addressed. However, in view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, the said flight has been cancelled," an Air India spokesperson told ANI.
Air India said the passengers are being provided hotel accommodation besides offering them full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling, if the passengers choose to do so.
Earlier in the day, another flight, AI 159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, was cancelled due to unavailability of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft because of airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks. However, an Air India spokesperson quoted by Hindustan Times denied that the flight was cancelled due to technical glitch.