George Abraham, General Secretary of the Aviation Industry Employees' Guild (AIEG), on Friday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the firing of two Air India cabin crew who reportedly reported a technical fault on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In an interview with IANS, Abraham explained the guild has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and direct a proper investigation.
He told him that the two crew members were supposedly coerced into changing their official statement after reporting a malfunction in the door system of the aircraft and getting fired later for not co-operating.
“This is a matter that affects aviation safety at its core. Pressuring crew to change statements and firing them for standing by their report is extremely serious. We’ve asked the Prime Minister to ensure a fair and independent probe,” Abraham said.
He explained the incident, which happened on May 14, 2024, when there was a technical glitch in an Air India plane arriving from Mumbai to London. The aircraft's slide rafts deployed in manual mode, Abraham said, due to a malfunction in the door—an aberration, as such systems are usually initiated in automatic mode only.
First, both the pilot and cabin crew accepted the fault in their statements. But Abraham claims that the management of the airline later intimidated them into changing the statements. When two of the flight attendants declined, they were reportedly fired from their positions.
To resolve the matter, the employees complained to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and in turn, they were called to Delhi for talks. Though the DGCA allegedly opened an 'informal investigation', Abraham pointed out that almost eight months have elapsed without any result.
The matter has gained renewed interest following the recent Ahmedabad plane crash tragedy, bringing renewed focus to aviation safety procedures.
"With the recent turn of events and increased public interest, we have again written to Prime Minister Modi for a proper and immediate investigation. We expect this issue to get the attention it warrants now," Abraham stated.
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