Air India hit by Dreamliner glitches

06 Nov 2013

An Air India Dreamliner from London made a priority landing in Delhi early this morning, after the windshield of another Air India 787 Dreamliner cracked while landing in Australia yesterday and a body panel of yet another 787 fell off just two weeks ago.

The 787 Dreamliner jet with nearly 170 passengers and 10 crew members made a priority landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after warning lights in the cockpit indicated problems with the braking system.

The plane, however, landed safely, Air India sources said.

While the incident has been described as a "false alarm", it has raised new concerns about the safety of the high-tech jet, which has suffered a string of glitches since its introduction two years ago.

Seattle-based Boeing Co said it was working with Air India to repair the windshield of the 787 Dreamliner that cracked while landing at Australia's Melbourne airport.

The Melbourne incident comes just weeks after a body panel fell off an Air India 787, a development that Boeing and the airline are still investigating.

The body panel fell off the Dreamliner that was heading from Delhi to Bangalore.

Boeing said the loss of the fuselage panel posed no safety risk to passengers.

Air India currently operates nine of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft and is expected to take delivery of a 10th one this week. It has ordered a total of 27 Dreamliners as part of its modernisation and turnaround plan.

The 787 Dreamliner has suffered a series of glitches since it was introduced. Airlines across the world had grounded their fleets of 787 Dreamliners between January and April this year, following incidents of overheating of batteries.