It turns out that as of March 2025, around 133 planes, accounting for about 16% of India’s commercial airline fleet, are currently grounded, primarily due to supply chain disruptions and engine failures, especially those involving faulty Pratt & Whitney engines. Go Airlines was the hardest hit, with nearly half its fleet grounded last year, while IndiGo had 60–70 aircraft out of service as of January 2025. The report also highlights issues in aircraft maintenance quality, with ground staff in India typically conducting fewer checks compared to international standards.
There is always the possibility to human error, a freak accident that causes tragic loss of lives. It is sad and catastrophic but not systemic callousness resulting from blatant disregard for human life. My grandmother in her last days used to say that there is no value of life in India except to the immediate family. This is true for the birth of a child or the passing of someone her age. No one outside the family cares if there a few hundred thousand less or more. It is just a rounding error given the population of the country.
So if a person does not have strong family ties, their death is only a relief to everyone else, welcome even as it reduces the competition for limited resources. She was somewhat estranged from her daughter-in-laws at the time which meant very little access to her son's children. I attributed her statements back then to her having grown cantankerous with age and being too stubborn to mend fences with members of her family. But reading about the blatant disregard to safety standards for airplane maintenance, makes me wonder if she was right in her deeply cynical pronouncements.
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