The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday grounded an Air India aircraft and two of its pilots after a drop in pressurisation levels forced its flight from Dubai to Kochi to divert to Mumbai.
Air India's AI 934 took off from Dubai at 1.35 p.m. with 247 passengers and crew onboard but three hours into the flight, it diverted to Mumbai after the pilots reported a loss of pressurisation that can lead to loss of oxygen.
A senior DGCA official said that the drop in pressurisation resulted in oxygen masks being deployed. However, he added that passengers were safe.
"We are grounding the aircraft and off-rostering the pilots pending an inquiry," said a senior DGCA official. Two senior DGCA officers were also sent to Mumbai airport to probe the incident.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 787.
The airline said in a statement that the flight diversion was due to a technical issue and that an alternate aircraft was being arranged to carry passengers from Mumbai to Kochi.
Earlier this week, the DGCA also grounded two Go First aircraft following engine snags.
