Air India Amritsar-Birmingham flight grounded in UK after emergency turbine (RAT) deploys mid-descent
An Amritsar to Birmingham Air India flight saw the deployment of its RAT system just before landing. All passengers are safe. The aircraft has been grounded, as per a statement by the company.
An Air India Amritsar to Birmingham flight landed safely after Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed on the same on Saturday during its final approach towards its destination.
An official statement revealed that all hydraulic as well as electrical systems on the aircraft were later checked and found to be in normal condition.
“On 4 October 2025, Air India flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham experienced deployment of its Ram Air Turbine (RAT) during final approach," Air India's official statement said, further adding, “The aircraft has been grounded for checks, leading to the cancellation of AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi, with alternative arrangements being made."
What is the Ram Air Turbine (RAT)?
A RAT is an emergency backup power system present in an aircraft. It uses the speed of the aircraft to generate power when the the latter loses its hydraulic or electrical power. This usually happens when an engine or a generator fails.
The RAT looks like a propeller and is usually fitted at the bottom of an aircraft.
The spinning turbines of the system drive a hydraulic pump or an electrical generator to produce electricity and supply the same to the aircraft's systems in case of a power disruption.
Air India crash probe
In one of the worst aircraft accidents in India, a total of 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI 171 to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
AAIB, in its preliminary report released on July 12, had said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after takeoff.
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it had said.
The Supreme Court, on September 22, termed as "unfortunate and irresponsible" the selective publication of a preliminary report on the June 12 Air India crash, which outlined lapses on the part of pilots and paved the way for a "media narrative".
With PTI inputs