Authorities investigate why Air India B777 dropped 900ft just days after AI171

It has been revealed that India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has opened an investigation into why an Air India Boeing 777 dropped around 900ft (300m) immediately after take-off from Delhi, just 38 hours after the loss of the same carrier’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad which killed 270 people.

As reported by the Economic Times of India, the DGCA has begun a formal investigation into the serious incident, which is said to have taken place on June 14, 2024, just 38 hours after the loss of flight AI171. According to the report, the flight involved was Air India flight AI187 operating from Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) heading to Vienna International Airport (VIE) in Austria.

The flight was being performed by one of the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs registered as VT-ALU. The flight took off from Delhi at 03:16 local time bound for Vienna, where, following a crew change, the plane was due to head to Toronto in Canada. According to reports, there was heavy thunderstorm activity in the vicinity of the airport at the time of the departure.

Eliyahu Yosef Parypa / ShutterstockImmediately after take-off, as the aircraft climbed away from the airport, the crew received multiple critical warnings in the flight deck. The wide-body aircraft, which can accommodate up to 345 passengers, received a stall warning, along with two “don’t sink” automated aural cautions from the aircraft’s Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), alerting the crew to an abnormal loss in altitude. Officials involved in the matter confirmed that the aircraft dropped approximately 900 feet (300m)  during its initial climb.

Critical warnings received

According to the officials, the crew received a stick shaker alert, which vibrates the pilots’ control columns to warn of an impending aerodynamic stall. This system is designed to immediately draw the pilots’ attention to the critical situation and to induce immediate corrective action, such as lowering the nose and increasing power to create additional lift.

“The aircraft was involved in an in-flight occurrence of stick shaker and GPWS caution. Soon after take-off, the stick shaker warning and GPWS “Don’t sink” caution appeared. The stall warning came once, and the GPWS caution came twice. There was an altitude loss of around 900 feet during the climb. Subsequently, the crew recovered the aircraft and continued the flight to Vienna,” officials familiar with the incident said.

Soos Jozsef / ShutterstockThe flight data, reviewed after the incident, revealed that the onboard systems issued multiple alerts, including those not fully reflected in the initial pilot report. The original flight report is said to have only mentioned “stick shaker due to turbulence after take-off,” while omitting the ground proximity and stall warnings. It was only after flight data recorder (FDR) analysis that the full extent of the occurrence was discovered. With the DGCA now involved in investigating the matter, it is understood that both pilots have subsequently been removed from flying duties, while the airline’s head of safety has been summoned for questioning by the DGCA.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Upon receipt of the pilot’s report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft’s recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Flightradar24Data obtained from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft involved carried on with the flight as scheduled after the incident and landed safely in Vienna at 08:23 local time, some eight hours and 37 minutes after departing Delhi. After an hour and 50 minutes on the ground, the flight proceeded on to Toronto as scheduled.

DGCA concerns

The incident came less than two days after the AI 171 tragedy, which has once again raised questions as to Air India’s operational safety. In response, the DGCA had launched enhanced oversight of the airline’s fleet and safety protocols. On June 17, the DGCA formally expressed concern about “recent maintenance-related issues” and instructed the airline to enhance coordination across several departments (engineering, operations, and ground handling) while reinforcing its focus on safety.Additionally, on June 23, 2025, AeroTime reported that the DGCA had taken immediate action against Air India by imposing sanctions against three executives in the airline’s crew scheduling department. The move follows the finding of what the DGCA termed as “repeated and serious violations of crew safety regulations.”

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