Fired Air India Crew Allege Boeing Safety Cover-Up

“We Were Fired for Telling the Truth”: Ex-Air India Crew Allege Boeing Door Cover-Up in Letter to PM

Ex-Air India flight attendants have accused the airline of suppressing a serious Boeing 787 safety incident, claiming they were terminated for refusing to alter official accounts. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two crew members allege a cover-up involving a door malfunction on a Dreamliner aircraft—and warn of ongoing safety lapses just as the country grapples with the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 in Ahmedabad that killed over 270 people.

Their claim adds to growing concern over Air India’s safety culture, especially regarding its fleet of Boeing aircraft. The letter arrives as investigations into the AI171 crash continue, and a pattern of technical issues and procedural lapses begins to emerge.

Incident One Year Before Crash: The Door That Shouldn’t Have Opened

According to the whistle-blowers, the incident in question occurred on May 14, 2024, during Flight AI-129 from Mumbai to London Heathrow. After docking and passenger disembarkation, the slide raft of Boeing 787 VT-ANQ suddenly deployed—despite the door being opened in manual mode, which by design should prevent slide activation.

Slide rafts are critical safety devices intended for emergency evacuations, and they’re only meant to deploy when the door is in 'armed' mode. The crew initially documented the incident as a technical malfunction, with the pilot and cabin-in-charge backing their version in written reports.

However, the attendants allege that when they refused to retract their statements under pressure from senior Air India officials, they were issued show-cause notices and fired within 48 hours. They claim the pilot later changed his statement, claiming he was not looking when the door was opened—casting further doubt on the transparency of the investigation.

Pattern of Suppression: Ignored Warnings and Eyewitnesses Excluded

The letter claims that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation watchdog, also failed to act on the issue. Despite a complaint being filed with the Central Vigilance Commission, the attendants say that only an “informal inquiry” was carried out—with no report made public.

Even more troubling, they allege that key eyewitnesses present during the incident were deliberately excluded from the investigation process. “This was not just a mechanical fault,” the letter warns. “It was a systemic failure—one that was buried instead of corrected.”

The attendants had both served over 20 years with Air India and claim their termination was retaliatory, timed exactly one year before the June 12, 2025, AI171 crash—an eerie coincidence that intensifies the urgency of their allegations.

A Broader Crisis: Crash in Ahmedabad Raises New Questions

The whistle-blower revelations come just days after the AI171 disaster, in which a Dreamliner en route to London crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad. The flight data recorder was severely damaged, prompting the Indian government to send the black box to the U.S. for recovery at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington.

While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, the inability to retrieve flight data underscores serious gaps in emergency preparedness and aircraft resilience. In response, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed new regulations targeting aerodrome obstructions, indicating broader concern about systemic threats to flight safety.

Whistle-blowers Deserve to Be Heard—Not Silenced

The allegations made by these former Air India crew members are more than just a personnel grievance—they represent a potential failure of aviation oversight, corporate accountability, and whistle-blower protection. If true, the cover-up of a critical malfunction in a Boeing aircraft—especially one with similarities to equipment involved in a fatal crash—demands a full, transparent, and independent investigation.

Suppressing safety concerns in aviation can have fatal consequences. It is imperative that regulators, lawmakers, and the public pay attention not just to crashes, but to those who speak up before the next one happens.

(With agency inputs)