Patience First
The temptation to settle on a convenient explanation after a major aviation disaster is understandable.
The temptation to settle on a convenient explanation after a major aviation disaster is understandable.
According to the airline's statement, flight AI479 "marginally infringed" into Pakistani airspace, which remains closed for Indian airlines.
An Air India Airbus A321 operating between Delhi and Amritsar briefly entered Pakistani airspace after a navigation system snag. The aircraft returned safely to Indian airspace following an alert from Pakistani ATC and later landed in Amritsar after a diversion to Delhi.
One year after one of the worst aviation disasters in Indian history, the most unsettling reality is not that the final answer remains elusive. It is that, in the absence of definitive findings, competing certainties have rushed in to fill the void.
The plane took off. It never landed. 260 people left the ground that afternoon, only one came back. Milan Sharma lost his sister. Now he is making sure no one forgets.
All 161 passengers and the crew of the New Delhi-Indore Air India Express flight deboarded safely after the emergency landing.
The airlines further said the decision was taken in the "best interest" of the safety of the passengers and crew.
Air India announced it will suspend Delhi-Washington flights from September 1 due to operational factors, impacting travelers on this international route.
Air India on Sunday began the retrofit of its widebody aircraft and is accelerating the refurbishment of its narrowbody fleet as part of a large-scale modernisation drive worth over $400 million.
Congress leader KC Venugopal recounted a near-miss incident on an Air India flight diverted to Chennai, where the pilot aborted landing to avoid another aircraft on the runway. Air in its response refuted Venugopal's claims stating the landing on first attempt was avoided to weather conditions.
