India regulator asks Air India for training data of pilots, dispatcher of crashed plane

NEW DELHI: India’s aviation safety watchdog has asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and dispatcher for the plane that crashed last week as part of its investigation into the incident that killed at least 271 people, government memos showed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also asked all flying schools to conduct training compliance checks, according to the confidential memos, seen by Reuters. The DGCA said the requests were part of a “regulatory” review of the accident, and also sought details of action taken following the watchdog’s audits of Air India in the last few months. It asked for the details to be provided by Monday.

It was not clear whether Air India had complied with the directive. The airline and the DGCA did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London with 242 people on board began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday before crashing into nearby buildings. Everyone on board was killed, bar a single passenger, along with about 30 on the ground.