Top News

154

New Delhi: India’s aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Tata Group-led Air India to reinspect the emergency power source system RAT (Ram Air Turbine) for stowage in all aircraft whose power conditioning module (PCM) was replaced in the recent past, sources said on Sunday.

A Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is an emergency backup system in aircraft that deploys to provide hydraulic power and electricity when primary power sources fail. It works by using the aircraft’s forward motion to spin a small turbine, which then powers critical flight controls and avionics, allowing pilots to safely land the plane. The RAT is designed for emergencies like a dual-engine failure or total electrical system failure.

According to the DGCA advisory: “Air India has been advised to review the work package of ‘D’ Check for the actions required in view of change of PCM module, for any discrepancy.”

The advisory comes after an incident took place on October 4, 2025, when Flight AI-117 from Amritsar to Birmingham reported the deployment of the aircraft’s RAT during its final approach.

The people explained that this system is rarely used and typically activates only when both engines fail or a major systems failure occurs—making its deployment an unusual and serious event.

However, Air India has clarified that despite the unexpected activation of the RAT, all onboard electrical and hydraulic parameters were reported to be normal.

Last week, India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, “They (DGCA) have already gotten on the job. And once we get to know more details, we are going to reach out to the necessary stakeholders to further see what are the necessary things that we need to do so that these things don’t happen.”

Besides Air India, DGCA asked aircraft manufacturer Boeing to provide a comprehensive report outlining the preventive measures to be implemented in respect of the uncommanded RAT deployment incident.

The regulator has also asked Boeing to provide detailed information regarding similar uncommanded RAT deployments which have occurred globally on Boeing 787 series aircraft.