India’s largest pilot association has called on the country’s aviation regulator to ground and inspect all Boeing 787 aircraft in the country, following a ram air turbine (RAT) incident at Birmingham Airport.
On Sunday (October 5), the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which represents around 6,000 pilots, wrote to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) urging the watchdog to conduct electrical safety checks on all 787 aircraft in India.
A copy of the FIP’s letter was also sent to India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a sub-branch within the DGCA.
The union's call for action follows the automatic deployment of the RAT system during the landing of an Air India 787 at Birmingham Airport.
On Saturday (October 4), Air India flight AI-117 was approaching the airport when, at an altitude of around 500ft, the 12 year-old 787-8's RAT deployed without cause.
The RAT is a small fan that deploys in emergencies when the aircraft's primary power source is lost. It swings into the airstream and spins, converting airflow into usable power.
Air India said in a statement that the deployment was not due to either a system fault nor pilot action. The airline has submitted a report to regulators.
The aircraft was then grounded at Birmingham Airport and its return flight to Amritsar was cancelled.
Charanvir Singh Randhawa, president of FIP, spoke with Airline Economics, said that the “alarming” incident at Birmingham follows other malfunctions on the 787 range.
The incident followed months after Air India Flight 171 on a 787-8 crashed in June 2025, shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people on board. However, while the RAT deployed following a loss of power, investigations are still ongoing into why the plane lost power.
Air India said initial inspections on the aircraft at Birmingham showed electrical and hydraulic parameters were “normal”.
Boeing referred to Air India for comment.
As of now, no formal investigation has been launched.