India's aviation watchdog found 51 safety lapses at Air India in its July audit, including lack of adequate training for some pilots, use of unapproved simulators and a poor rostering system.
The annual audit was not related to the deadly Boeing 787 crash last month that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad, but its findings come as the airline faces renewed scrutiny after the accident.
The Tata Group-owned airline is already facing warning notices for running planes without checking emergency equipment, not changing engine parts in time and forging records, along with other lapses related to crew fatigue management.
The 11-page confidential audit report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) noted seven 'Level I' significant breaches which need to be fixed by July 30, and 44 other non-compliances classified which need to be resolved by August 23.
Officials said they found 'recurrent training gaps' for some unspecified Boeing 787 and 777 pilots, saying they had not completed their monitoring duties, where they don't fly but observe functioning of instruments in the cockpit, ahead of mandatory periodic evaluations.
