Lok Sabha Question No. 2062 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Rules and Regulations for Safety and Maintenance of Aircraft
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Shri N K Premachandran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## Lok Sabha

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 2062 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  31st July 2025 )

## RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE OF AIRCRAFT

2062.    SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  introduce new  rules and regulations for  the safety  and  maintenance of  aircraft  considering rising safety concerns such as increasing air traffic, aircraft crashes, incidents related to bird hits and other technical issues;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the action taken thereon;

- (c) the details of the plane crashes in the country during the last ten years along with the number of casualties i.e. deaths and injuries and the action taken to compensate the victims;

(d)  whether the Government proposes to introduce a new mechanism to address the issue of the overburdened Air Traffic Control (ATC) system;

- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the action taken thereon;
- (f)  whether  the  Government  has  received  any  report  highlighting  the reasons  for  the  recent  plane  crash  at  Ahmedabad  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (g) whether the Government proposes to implement an efficient mechanism  to  ensure  the  safety  of  the  aviation  system  and  proper maintenance of aircraft and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

Minister  of  State  in  the  Ministry  of  CIVIL  AVIATION            (Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a) to (b): Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a comprehensive and structured Civil Aviation Regulations for safe operation of aircraft and its maintenance. These regulations are continuously updated and aligned with International Standards.; ; (c):  A  total  of  18  accidents  involving  Indian  civil  registered  scheduled aircraft  have  been  reported  from  year  2015  till  date.  The  details  are enclosed as Annexure A.; ; Payment of compensation to the passenger or Next of Kin in case of death or  bodily  injury  to  the  passenger,  caused  by  air  accident  /  incident  is governed by the provisions of Carriage by Air Act, 1972. India has ratified the Montreal Convention, 1999 by making amendments to the Carriage by Air  Act,  1972  in  2009.  As  per  the  said  act,  the  liability  of  payment  of compensation in case of death, delay, damage or loss to persons, baggage or cargo for international carriage, is of the carriers.; ; Further,  India  has  ratified  the  Montreal  Convention,  1999  by  making amendments  to  the  Carriage  by  Air  Act,  1972  in  2009  which  inter-alia provides  the  liabilities  of  carriers  for  compensation  in  case  of  death, delay,  damage  or  loss  to  persons,  baggage  or  cargo  for  international carriage. ; (d)  &  (e):  Airports  Authority  of  India  (AAI)  follows  national  regulatory requirements  such  as  Watch  Duty  Time  Limitations  (WDTL)  and  rest requirements for ATCOs at airports/ regions in India.; ; (f):  An  investigation  has  been  ordered  by  Director  General,  Aircraft Accident  Investigation  Bureau  (AAIB)  under  Rule  11  of  the  Aircraft (Investigation  of  Accidents  &  Incidents)  Rules,  2017  to  determine  the probable  cause(s)/contributory  factor(s)  leading  to  the  accident  of  Air India flight AI-171 at Ahmedabad on 12.06.2025, ; ; A preliminary report on the accident has been published by AAIB on 12th July, 2025  and  is available on their  website  www.aaib.gov.in.  The investigation is under progress to determine the probable cause(s)/contributory factor(s) leading to the accident.; ; (g):  DGCA  has  a  robust  safety  oversight  mechanism  in  place,  which includes surveillance, spot checks, and audits to monitor compliance with Rules  and  Civil  Aviation  Requirements  (CARs).  Special  audits  are  also conducted based on risk perception. Findings of audit reports are followed up with operators for compliance. Enforcement actions, including financial penalties, are taken in case of violations. ******

|   S. No. | Date       | Place of Accident   | Aircraft Registration   | Operator    |   Fatalities | Brief Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|----------|------------|---------------------|-------------------------|-------------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | 08-Mar-15  | Hubli               | VT-SUA                  | Spicejet    |            0 | Shortly after touchdown, the aircraft veered to the left, struck runway edge lighting-including non-frangible fixtures-which caused the left landing gear to collapse. The aircraft exited the runway onto rough terrain about 52m from centerline.                                                                                                                                                           |
|        2 | 13-Apr-15  | Khajuraho           | VT-JGA                  | Jet Airways |            0 | Approximately 15 seconds after touchdown at about 36 knots, the aft trunnion pin on the left main gear sheared due to fatigue induced by excessive grinding and hydrogen embrittlement, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway and come to rest on its nose gear and right engine.                                                                                                                       |
|        3 | 04-Dec-15  | Jabalpur            | VT-SUC                  | Spicejet    |            0 | Aircraft struck wild boars during the landing roll at Jabalpur Airport. The impact collapsed the left main landing gear, causing the left engine propeller to shear off and the nose gear to collapse. The aircraft veered off the runway onto soft ground and came to a halt.                                                                                                                                |
|        4 | 16-Dec-15  | Mumbai              | VT-SCQ                  | Air India   |            1 | A service engineer working under the aircraft was ingested into the No. 1 engine and suffered fatal injuries. The tow truck driver also took the tow truck away from the aircraft leaving tow bar. The nose wheel of the aircraft hit the tow bar and the tow bar got stuck with the RH main landing gear wheel.                                                                                              |
|        5 | 03-Mar-16  | Mumbai              | VT-JGD                  | Jet Airways |            0 | After landing on runway 27 at Mumbai, cockpit crew heard a thud sound an aircraft started turning towards right. During investigation it was observed that trunnion pin sheared off during landing roll.                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|        6 | 07-May- 16 | Indore              | VT-JCX                  | Jet Airways |            0 | The aircraft was involved in Runway Excursion while landing at Rwy 25. Aircraft veered towards left, went into kutcha and stopped near isolation bay                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|        7 | 27-Dec-16  | Goa                 | VT-JBG                  | Jet Airways |            0 | Aircraft was aligned with the runway center line and throttle was at approx. 40% of N1 and TOGA was pressed by PIC. As soon as TOGA was pressed, aircraft started veering towards the right of centerline. In spite of efforts by the crew to control the aircraft by applying rudder, brakes, aircraft exited the runway on the right. Aircraft stopped on the soft ground and sustained substantial damage. |
|        8 | 05-Sep-17  | Cochin              | VT-AYB                  | Air India   |            0 | On 04.09.2017, M/s Air India Express                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

|    |           |                         |        |                       |                                   | B737-800 aircraft VT-AYB was involved in an accident at Cochin Airport while operating Flight IX 452 from Abu Dhabi to Cochin. There were 102 passengers and 06 Crew (02 Cockpit Crew & 04 Cabin Crew) on board the aircraft. After landing while taxiing, aircraft took a 90 m early turn before Taxiway 'F' on Taxiway 'C' (between E and F) and entered into open rain water drain. Major Structural damage occurred including damage to Nose Landing Gear (NLG), Engine inlet Cowls, Fan Cowls, Engine Strut, Belly skin etc.   |
|----|-----------|-------------------------|--------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  9 | 11-Oct-18 | Trichy                  | VT-AYD | M/s Air India Express | 0                                 | M/s Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AYD was involved in an accident while operating flight AXB-611 (Trichy- Dubai) on 12.10.2018. The aircraft hit the ILS Antenna and top of boundary wall while taking off from Trichy Airport.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 10 | 1-Jul-19  | Mumbai                  | VT-SYK | Spice Jet             | NIL                               | While operating a scheduled flight for sector Jaipur - Mumbai, met with runway excursion accident at Mumbai. Aircraft traveled approx150M forward from runway 27 end                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| 11 | 14-Jun-20 | Enroute (Damam- Cochin) | VT-IJT | Indigo                | Nil                               | Cabin crew fell during cruise due turbulence. Cabin crew sustained serious injury to her leg.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| 12 | 7-Aug-20  | Calicut                 | VT-AXH | Air India Express Ltd | 21                                | During landing on R/W 10 at Calicut aircraft went out of the runway 10 end and then fell in to a gorge. Aircraft was completely damaged.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 13 | 20-Feb-21 | Vijaywada               | VT-GHE | Air India Express Ltd | NIL                               | After landing, while taxing to stand, aircraft right wing leading edge hit flood light mast thereby damaging leading edge of slat no 7 & 8. Due to hit by the aircraft right wing, flood light mast broke and fell on the ground.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| 14 | 7-Jun-21  | Kolkata                 | VT-TGE | Vistara               | Nil                               | During descent, passing FL-200, aircraft encountered severe turbulence. seat belts were on since past 20mins and crew were advised to sit via intercom. 04 pax suffered injuries.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| 15 | 14-Jun-21 | Hubli                   | VT-IYX | Indigo                | NIL                               | Aircraft operating flight 6E-7979 sector Kannur to Hubli was involved in severe hard landing accident at Hubli.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| 16 | 4-Sep-21  | Bangalore               | VT-IYM | Indigo                | Nil                               | During cruise aircraft encountered turbulence and one cabin crew received serious injury. Nil damage to aircraft.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| 17 | 1-May-22  | Durgapur                | VT-SLH | Spicejet              | 1 (After four months of accident) | During descent, aircraft encountered severe turbulence resulted in injuries to passenger.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |

| 18   | 12-Jun-25   | Ahmedab ad   | VT-ANB   | Air India   | 241 Onboard and 19 on ground   | Shortly after takeoff at Ahmedabad, aircraft crashed into building of the BJ medical college in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad.   |
|------|-------------|--------------|----------|-------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

****