What you should know about the aircraft involved in Air India’s latest mishaps — they are not Boeings

Flight diversions, choked toilets, broken seats, and now, a fatal crash. Air India has been in the news for all the wrong reasons since the Tatas took charge from the government.

Passengers believed the Tata Group had a magic wand that could turn around a beleaguered airline in a jiffy. Alas, it was not to be. The turnaround is taking longer than expected. A large part of the delay is due to prevailing market conditions and supply chain issues. Air India’s repeated announcements about refurbishment and revamp since the takeover have only heightened anticipation.

Cut to June 2025. The focus has suddenly shifted to safety above all else after the deadly crash of AI171 at Ahmedabad, which occurred within seconds of take-off. Social media has been abuzz ever since, with chatter centring on Boeing, Dreamliners, and Air India. Much of it, however, is unfounded in the absence of solid proof.

Passengers are also said to be avoiding the airline or specific aircraft types, but data confirming this is not yet available. Now, three incidents involving Air India have made headlines. Is there a break to this cycle of horrid news for the airline?

A runway excursion, APU fire, and rejected take-off

On Monday, 21 July, AI2744 from Kochi to Mumbai had a runway excursion while landing in Mumbai. The aircraft briefly left the runway before returning to the paved surface and taxiing to the gate under its own power.

An official statement said that passengers disembarked normally. The aircraft was VT-TYA, an all-economy class jet that was inducted into Vistara and later moved to Air India after the merger. The four-year-old aircraft has since been grounded in Mumbai.

Photos circulating on social media showed a damaged engine nacelle, damage to the wheels, and grass remains that the aircraft likely picked up while off the runway. This could have been much worse, but the pilots saved the day.

Mumbai’s monsoons have a history of triggering runway excursions every few years. The main runway has been closed in the past following excursions by SpiceJet in 2019 and Turkish Airlines in 2011. The city was experiencing heavy rain on Monday.

On Tuesday, 22 July, AI315 from Hong Kong to Delhi experienced an auxiliary power unit (APU) fire shortly after landing and parking at the gate. The incident occurred while passengers had begun disembarking, and the APU was automatically shut down, as per system design.

The aircraft suffered some damage, but all passengers and crew members disembarked safely. According to an airline statement, the aircraft has been grounded for further investigation, and the regulator has been duly notified. The aircraft in question was VT-TVG, one of Air India’s four Airbus A321LRs.

Meanwhile, a Delhi–Kolkata flight experienced a rejected takeoff. Such incidents are standard safety procedures executed by pilots within all operational limitations. On 21 July, when VT-TVA was scheduled to fly to Kolkata as AI2403, it had to abort takeoff due to a technical issue and return to the gate. A replacement aircraft departed with a delay of nearly four hours.

The plane has since returned to service.

Tail Note

Call it coincidence or otherwise, all three aircraft involved in these incidents are former Vistara A321s now operated by Air India. While the runway excursion and APU fire could have turned serious, the rejected take-off received disproportionate attention, simply because it involved Air India. Such events occur routinely across the world and with other Indian carriers as well.

Still, this poses a serious concern for Air India, especially with both the flying and non-flying public forming opinions based solely on headlines. For brand Air India, this is bad news.

How long it will take for the airline to recover is anybody’s guess. For now, the airline faces scrutiny from both the regulator and the flying public, and yes, from social media, too.