Update on Air India jet black boxes as recorders could be sent to US for analysis after being hauled from 1,000C inferno
THE black box recovered from the doomed Air India flight could be sent to the US for analysis after being rescued from a blazing 1,000 degree inferno.
The
7
A fire officer stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft
Credit: Reuters
7
The Air India plane crashed into a medical college campus creating a huge fireball
Credit: x/nchorAnandN
7
The plane's tail can be seen sticking out of a building following the crash
Credit: AP
The Indian government has the final say on who probes the device, but reports say the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C. is being considered for the analysis.
A team of Indian investigators is expected to accompany the device to ensure all protocols are followed during the
Investigators warned on Tuesday that the recovered
When jet fuel is combusted inside a plane's engine, the resulting heat can reach immense temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees.
READ MORE WORLD NEWS
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick crashed less than a minute after take-off into a
The major black box update comes as an Air India boss revealed a bombshell update on the deadly crash - as he detailed how the Boeing aircraft had "recently been serviced".
N Chandrasekaran said that the doomed jet had a "
He also hit back at 'speculation' on what caused the London-bound flight to crash, and added that a probe into the exact cause of the crash could take a month.
Most read in The Sun
Planes usually carry
One records flight data, such as altitude and speed, whilst the other monitors the cockpit sound.
Moment miracle Brit survivor of Air India disaster heads BACK to burning wreck to save brother saying 'I have to save him'
The
Despite the name, these devices are painted bright orange for visibility amid debris.
Investigators believe the CVR on this 2014-delivered aircraft likely stored only two hours of cockpit audio.
The jet predates a 2021 rule which enforced 25-hour recordings on all planes.
But the FDR is capable of logging thousands of flight parameters for over 25 hours, including altitude, airspeed, and control inputs.
The aircraft had climbed less than 600 feet before its ascent stalled, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
A distress signal was sent but was met with complete
radio
silence.
Moments later, the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex near the airport's northeastern boundary.
7
Jet fuel burns at over 1,000 degrees
Credit: EPA
7
At least 270 people died in the crash
Credit: EPA
The damaged black box is now seen as a crucial piece of evidence in understanding what led to India's worst air disaster in nearly three decades.
Investigators hope the data from the box will shed light on the aircraft's final moments.
It comes after
crash investigators speculated that an
just before the plane went down - raising questions about whether the
engines were working properly
.
Analysts agreed that a small turbine generator deployed as the Boeing 787 flew towards the doctors' hostel.
Commentators allege this was a system called Ram Air Turbine (RAT) poking out from the fuselage of the plane, which
Commercial airline pilot Steve Schreiber, known as Captain Steve, explained: "Many aeroplanes have it. It is just behind the wing on the right side of the aeroplane, there is a little door that holds it in.
Leading theories on Air India Flight AI171
THESE are some of the leading theories explaining the tragic Air India disaster which killed at least 270 people.
Emergency power system
: A small turbine generator was seen deploying as the Boeing 787 went down, experts said.
Footage showed a "protrusion on the belly of the aircraft" with a "little grey dot" beneath it.
Commentators say this was a system called Ram Air Turbine (RAT) poking out from the fuselage of the plane.
Bird Strikes
: A bird strike could have taken out both of the jet's giant General Electric engines.
While a bird taking down something the size of a commercial airliner might sound fanciful, there are numerous examples.
Wing flap position
: Aviation experts have suggested the position of the aircraft's wing flaps could have played a role in the disaster.
Video evidence suggests the flaps were either fully retracted or on a very minimal setting, which would have provided very little lift.
The flaps provide crucial extra lift at low speeds during take-offs and landings.
Pilot error
: The state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 is highly automated, with human pilots making only key decisions - but human error cannot be ruled out.
Co-pilot Clive Kundar had more than 3,400 hours of flying experience and made the mayday call but Captain Sumeet Sabharwa at the helm had 11,500 hours - making him one of Air India's most experienced pilots.
Heat
: Planes get less lift on a hot day due to lower air density, and therefore they need to go faster to get as much lift as on a cooler day.
This is particularly important when an airliner is heavy with fuel, passengers and baggage, as the Air India flight was.
Technical error
: Catastrophic technical or engineering issues have not been ruled out.
The jet's complex design mean it could take months for a design or engineering fault to be pinpointed.
"It looks like a little Evinrude motor, it's a little two bladed prop.
"The purpose is to provide electrical and hydraulic pressure for the aircraft on an extreme emergency."
Steve explained there are three things which could cause the RAT to deploy on a 787: "A massive electrical failure, a massive hydraulic failure, or a dual engine failure.
"But I think the fact the aeroplane is mushing out the
sky
gives the idea it was a dual engine failure," he said.
The tragic smash is the first ever fatal accident involving a Boeing Dreamliner.
52 Brits died on board the flight, but London local
7
Vishwash Ramesh's brother's funeral
Credit: Dan Charity
7
Lone survivor of the Air India plane crash Vishwash Ramesh pictured at his family home in Diu, India
Credit: Dan Charity
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
16 hours ago
- Irish Times
Death of an ‘old boy from Ireland' in a London-Irish suburb
It began with a handwritten shop notice. A passerby photographed it in early June in the window of Butler's newsagents in Archway, north London . Over the decades the area had been a magnet for Irish immigrants, but the community aged. Younger London Irish now favour Hackney or Clapham. Meanwhile, Archway's green army went grey. The notice announced the death and upcoming funeral of Martin Fallon (73), originally from Sligo. It had a grainy passport-style photo of him. The passerby, a local, posted the picture she captured on X with a note about how Archway's 'old boys from Ireland' were 'slowly dying out'. She said the area had changed from its Irish heyday, with many pubs and betting shops closed. There was a wistful air to her post, embellished by her image of the note in the window. In neat capitals, it looked like the vintage handwriting typical of an older person. The passerby's tweet garnered two retweets and 18 likes. Then somebody took a screenshot of it and posted it on a slew of Irish Facebook groups. This second person seemed to misconstrue the shop notice as an appeal to find Fallon's family. Soon it was all over Facebook groups linked to London's Irish communities, as well as groups linked to communities in the west of Ireland. A narrative – inaccurate, as it turned out – took hold that Fallon must have lost touch with home. READ MORE The story fitted a stereotype: that of the older Irish man who moved to London years ago, perhaps 'to work on the buildings', and ended up alone. Facebook users shared the post widely in a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to find anyone who knew Fallon. There were even radio appeals in his native Sligo. But important elements of the narrative that sprang up around Fallon online did not survive scrutiny. In fact, he had been in touch with a few family members, in Ireland and in London. They knew he had died because they had arranged his funeral. Fallon's funeral took place in Islington Cemetery on June 9th, the week after the tale about him went viral. The Irish Times attended the service in the small crematorium chapel, flooded with light beneath a glass dome. The huge cemetery around it was the size of a city park. Irish surnames abounded on its headstones. The notice in Butlers newsagents window announcing Martin Fallon's funeral Flowers left for Martin Fallon outside his funeral in Islington Crematorium Although some elements of Fallon's story online were perceived inaccurately, he had indeed lived a life typical of some Irish men who moved to Archway decades ago. He was a regular in Butler's newsagents, which has continued to sell all the Irish regional newspapers. He never married. He appeared to have a tight-knit network of friends and some helped him when he fell ill. He died of lung cancer. Originally from Collooney, he once worked in a bakery in Sligo. He loved Liverpool FC and Sligo Rovers. He had three sisters, at least two of whom had moved to the Archway area before him. Fallon followed about 40 years ago. It seemed two of his sisters had died. The remaining sister now lived in Galway but wasn't able to travel to his funeral. Fallon had a niece, who was present. She said she would bring his ashes to Ireland. [ Irish in London: 'Nobody was making me stay. I could have left at any time and gone home to Sligo ... That was 24 years ago' Opens in new window ] Fallon's service was simple, dignified but still noticeably small by Irish norms. There were a dozen mourners, a fraction of the size of a typical funeral in the sort of west of Ireland community where Fallon grew up. It hadn't been correct that he had completely lost touch with all family, but clearly his network in London was tight. Charlie Patel outside his newsagents, Butler's, a hub of the old Irish community in Archway Irish local newspapers in the shop Charlie Patel, the owner of Butler's News, where the original funeral notice was posted, describes Fallon as a 'lovely man'. He always bought the Sligo Champion and occasionally some of the Irish food staples the shop also stocked. Fruitfield jams, Chef sauce, Erin soups, Flahavan's porridge and Clonakilty rashers are all sold in Butler's. 'Even when my old Irish customers move away from Archway to the suburbs, to Enfield and places like that, they come back to my shop to buy their local Irish papers,' says Patel. 'Or sometimes their grown-up children come in to buy it for them instead.' Over several hours in Patel's shop over a couple of days last weekend, other elderly Irish immigrants talk about the Archway they have known as a bastion of the London-Irish community, and what it is like now. Many are, like Fallon, bachelors who retired after working in manual jobs. They are friendly but some are also shy about being photographed or identified. A west of Ireland woman, younger than Fallon's peers, says many of Archway's older Irish contingent, especially the men, 'wouldn't be too forthcoming'. 'Especially if they ended up alone,' she says. The woman says putting up a shop window notice of the kind that sparked the viral online post about Fallon is common in Archway. It is, she says, a sort of community messaging service for the elderly Irish to spread funeral details and news of deaths. 'They wouldn't always have each other's phone numbers,' she says. Archway is at the northern end of Islington borough, which is more affluent towards its southern parts nearer central London. The local MP is former Labour leader – now Independent – Jeremy Corbyn . In 1983 he beat Clare man Michael O'Halloran, a former MP who had split from Labour. The heartland of Archway centres on Junction Road and its strip of shops; the Upper Holloway Road, which used to be lined with Irish pubs, and a pedestrian plaza beside Archway tube station, known as Navigator Square, named in honour of Irish 'navvies' who came to Britain in the 19th century to build transport networks. 'There is an older Irish community here who often talk about going back [to Ireland],' Corbyn told The Irish Times in an interview on Navigator Square during last year's election. 'But they're never going back. It's just the idea of it that's important to them.' [ Older Irish people in London: 'It is so important to have something to get people out of the house. It breaks down the loneliness' Opens in new window ] Corbyn said The Archway Tavern, still standing tall over Navigator Square (which used to be a roundabout), was a hub of the Irish community and was 'where building labourers got work'. He said many Irish women worked as nurses at nearby Whittington Hospital. One history book estimated that 85 per cent of its nurses were Irish in postwar years. 'Every pub on Holloway Road also used to be an Irish pub with Irish music,' Corbyn said. 'That's not quite the same now. A lot has changed in Archway, just as it has in Ireland.' One thing that has stayed the same, however, is Butler's newsagents. Patel, who runs the Junction Road shop with his Gujarat-born wife, Naimesha, says they bought it 26 years ago. It was owned before that for 15 years by another Indian family. Another Indian family previously owned it for 18 years, after taking it over from Butlers, an Irish family. So for almost six decades since the mid-1960s, the newsagents shop has been run by Indians who kept its Irish name. Among the customers last Friday is Tipperary man Michael Coley (81). He has been in London for 67 years, since he was barely a teenager, but he still has a strong Irish accent. Coley used to work 'doing paving and sewage pipes'. With his late wife they had five children, who gave them 14 grandchildren. Coley used to go home to Thurles 'every few years' but no longer. On Saturday he is back in Butler's shop to buy Mikado biscuits and Fig Rolls for his grandchildren. A woman originally from a pretty village in Co Clare has been in London for 50 years. Would she ever think of moving back to Ireland? 'You get too used to the life over here,' she says. 'They're too nosy where I'm from anyway. They want to know everything but tell you nothing.' Betty Breen enters. She came to London 43 years ago. She has a glint in her eye. 'Where are you from?' she asks this reporter. Wicklow, comes the reply. 'We all have our problems in life,' she says. Breen married a Clare man, and her sister used to run the Archway Tavern, 'years ago, back when pubs were pubs'. Her London-born daughter moved to Kilkenny 15 years ago. Archway has changed a lot, she says. 'I think it's gone a bit rough.' Two men, bachelors, come in separately but chat together. Neither wants to be identified. One is from the southwest and moved to Archway in the 1970s. He worked in a trade. He didn't marry. 'I had a friendship years ago but it never worked out.' The other man is from a southern county. He used to travel between Ireland and England, and sometimes Scotland, 'when things were harder for the Irish in London'. One reason he stayed in Britain was the National Health Service. Joe Henry, from Tubbercurry in Sligo, moved to Archway in the 1970s. Like several of the others, he never married. He is friendly and chatty, but prefers not to divulge any more personal details. 'I've lived my life under the radar so far,' he says, laughing. Several of the men give lowdowns on the pubs on Holloway Road favoured by the Irish. Some drink in the Flóirín, an unfussy, locals kind of pub that used to be called the Mulberry. When The Irish Times visits, a Laois versus Tipperary hurling match is on the television. It is also clearly an Arsenal pub; the club's stadium is not far away. The woman behind the Flóirín bar looks familiar. It is Kerry woman Betty Breen, from Butler's earlier. She laughs when asked to stand for a photograph. After declining, she swaps banter with men at the bar. She is well able for them. The Flóirín The Crown Some men drink in the Crown on Upper Holloway. The Hercules, farther down the street, was also popular. The Mother Red Cap on Holloway Road, a former mainstay of the community once owned by the Phelan family, shut last year after St Patrick's Day. The legendary Gresham ballroom shut years ago and is now a Sainsbury's. Through the other side of Navigator Square, up Highgate Hill, a new Irish music and gastropub, Brendan the Navigator, was opened a couple of years ago by Clare flute player John Rynne. The Old Crown Inn, which was an Irish mainstay, used to sit on the same site. It was across the road from St Joseph's Catholic Church, jokingly known by some local Irish as the 'posh' church. The other church is St Gabriel's on Holloway. A grotto at St Joseph's church on Highgate Hill near Archway Many of the elderly Irish in Archway speak of how the area has changed. People from other ethnic backgrounds are now more numerous. Census data appears to bear out the perception. A 2021 council report based on census figures suggested 5.8 per cent of the Junction electoral ward's residents were of 'white Irish' ethnicity. About 11.5 per cent were black and 8 per cent Asian. About 4.1 per cent were born in the Republic, with 5.5 per cent born in Africa and 7.1 per cent born in the Middle East and Asia. A further 4.3 per cent were born in the Americas and Caribbean. Archway, it seems, is no longer an Irish stronghold. Other recent incidents have unsettled some of the older Irish community. John Mackey (87), originally from Callan in Co Kilkenny, a bachelor who lived for decades in nearby Finsbury Park, died in a knife attack in May. A man has been charged with his murder. Mackey had recently moved a little farther east to Manor House. He used to frequent Archway, however, where his late brother Christy used to live. Mackey's niece, Margaret Kennedy, said her uncle was 'an enigma', a popular, colourful character who wore a fedora and was 'loved by everybody who met him'. 'He was simply a charming man. He never married but he was a ladies man, always a woman on his elbow. I never once saw him cross.' Echoing something Corbyn had said earlier, Kennedy said her late uncle John always joked that he would 'be on that boat' back to Ireland, but he never moved home. Mackey's funeral is in Callan next week. Meanwhile, Fallon's funeral earlier this month concluded with the Liverpool football anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone. Sligo Rovers Football Club also sent flowers. Fallon died on April 27th, the day Liverpool beat Tottenham 5-1 to win the Premier League. He slipped away just before kickoff.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Update on Air India jet black boxes as recorders could be sent to US for analysis after being hauled from 1,000C inferno
THE black box recovered from the doomed Air India flight could be sent to the US for analysis after being rescued from a blazing 1,000 degree inferno. The 7 A fire officer stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft Credit: Reuters 7 The Air India plane crashed into a medical college campus creating a huge fireball Credit: x/nchorAnandN 7 The plane's tail can be seen sticking out of a building following the crash Credit: AP The Indian government has the final say on who probes the device, but reports say the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C. is being considered for the analysis. A team of Indian investigators is expected to accompany the device to ensure all protocols are followed during the Investigators warned on Tuesday that the recovered When jet fuel is combusted inside a plane's engine, the resulting heat can reach immense temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees. READ MORE WORLD NEWS The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick crashed less than a minute after take-off into a The major black box update comes as an Air India boss revealed a bombshell update on the deadly crash - as he detailed how the Boeing aircraft had "recently been serviced". N Chandrasekaran said that the doomed jet had a " He also hit back at 'speculation' on what caused the London-bound flight to crash, and added that a probe into the exact cause of the crash could take a month. Most read in The Sun Planes usually carry One records flight data, such as altitude and speed, whilst the other monitors the cockpit sound. Moment miracle Brit survivor of Air India disaster heads BACK to burning wreck to save brother saying 'I have to save him' The Despite the name, these devices are painted bright orange for visibility amid debris. Investigators believe the CVR on this 2014-delivered aircraft likely stored only two hours of cockpit audio. The jet predates a 2021 rule which enforced 25-hour recordings on all planes. But the FDR is capable of logging thousands of flight parameters for over 25 hours, including altitude, airspeed, and control inputs. The aircraft had climbed less than 600 feet before its ascent stalled, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. A distress signal was sent but was met with complete radio silence. Moments later, the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex near the airport's northeastern boundary. 7 Jet fuel burns at over 1,000 degrees Credit: EPA 7 At least 270 people died in the crash Credit: EPA The damaged black box is now seen as a crucial piece of evidence in understanding what led to India's worst air disaster in nearly three decades. Investigators hope the data from the box will shed light on the aircraft's final moments. It comes after crash investigators speculated that an just before the plane went down - raising questions about whether the engines were working properly . Analysts agreed that a small turbine generator deployed as the Boeing 787 flew towards the doctors' hostel. Commentators allege this was a system called Ram Air Turbine (RAT) poking out from the fuselage of the plane, which Commercial airline pilot Steve Schreiber, known as Captain Steve, explained: "Many aeroplanes have it. It is just behind the wing on the right side of the aeroplane, there is a little door that holds it in. Leading theories on Air India Flight AI171 THESE are some of the leading theories explaining the tragic Air India disaster which killed at least 270 people. Emergency power system : A small turbine generator was seen deploying as the Boeing 787 went down, experts said. Footage showed a "protrusion on the belly of the aircraft" with a "little grey dot" beneath it. Commentators say this was a system called Ram Air Turbine (RAT) poking out from the fuselage of the plane. Bird Strikes : A bird strike could have taken out both of the jet's giant General Electric engines. While a bird taking down something the size of a commercial airliner might sound fanciful, there are numerous examples. Wing flap position : Aviation experts have suggested the position of the aircraft's wing flaps could have played a role in the disaster. Video evidence suggests the flaps were either fully retracted or on a very minimal setting, which would have provided very little lift. The flaps provide crucial extra lift at low speeds during take-offs and landings. Pilot error : The state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 is highly automated, with human pilots making only key decisions - but human error cannot be ruled out. Co-pilot Clive Kundar had more than 3,400 hours of flying experience and made the mayday call but Captain Sumeet Sabharwa at the helm had 11,500 hours - making him one of Air India's most experienced pilots. Heat : Planes get less lift on a hot day due to lower air density, and therefore they need to go faster to get as much lift as on a cooler day. This is particularly important when an airliner is heavy with fuel, passengers and baggage, as the Air India flight was. Technical error : Catastrophic technical or engineering issues have not been ruled out. The jet's complex design mean it could take months for a design or engineering fault to be pinpointed. "It looks like a little Evinrude motor, it's a little two bladed prop. "The purpose is to provide electrical and hydraulic pressure for the aircraft on an extreme emergency." Steve explained there are three things which could cause the RAT to deploy on a 787: "A massive electrical failure, a massive hydraulic failure, or a dual engine failure. "But I think the fact the aeroplane is mushing out the sky gives the idea it was a dual engine failure," he said. The tragic smash is the first ever fatal accident involving a Boeing Dreamliner. 52 Brits died on board the flight, but London local 7 Vishwash Ramesh's brother's funeral Credit: Dan Charity 7 Lone survivor of the Air India plane crash Vishwash Ramesh pictured at his family home in Diu, India Credit: Dan Charity
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Air India chief reveals major update on crash investigation as he says doomed Boeing's engines had ‘just been serviced'
AN AIR India boss has revealed a major update on the deadly crash in Ahmedabad - as he detailed how the Boeing aircraft had "recently been serviced". The airline's chair said that the doomed jet had a "clean history" as well as two recently serviced engines, before it smashed into a doctors' hostel and exploded into a huge fireball last week. Advertisement 1 The Air India chair revealed a huge update on the crash Credit: Reuters N Chandrasekaran, who also chairs of the carrier's owner, Tata Group, hit back at 'speculation' on what caused the London-bound flight to crash a minute after take-off. And he said that a probe into what exactly caused India's worst air disaster in nearly three decades could take a month. All passengers and crew - except for one miracle survivor - died on Air India Flight AI171 after it crashed on June 12, killing at least 270 people. Chandrasekaran told India's Economic Times: 'There are speculations about human error, speculations about airlines, speculations about engines, maintenance, all kinds. Advertisement 'But the fact that I know so far is this particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI171 has a clean history,' The chairman added that the Dreamliner's right engine was 'new' and installed in March, just three months prior. Meanwhile, its left engine was serviced in 2023 and due for its next maintenance check in December, Chandrasekaran explained. 'Both engine histories are clean,' he emphasised. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive Exclusive Sumeet Sabharwal, the experienced captain of the doomed flight, had more than 11,500 hours of flying experience. And his co-pilot and first officer Clive Kunder, had over 3,400 hours. More to follow... Advertisement
