Expert suggests bird strike as potential cause of Air India crash as casualties increase
A former pilot in India has suggested that a bird strike may have caused the Air India plane crash that saw many people die after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner struck the BJ Medical College
A former pilot has suggested that the Air India plane crash might have been caused by a bird strike.
Speaking with Indian news TV channel New Delhi Television LTD, Saurabh Bhatnagar described the incident as appearing to involve "multiple bird hits".
He commented: "It looks, prima facie, like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power."
Bhatnagar continued to explain that the aircraft seemed to have had a perfect take-off but began descending just short of retracting its landing gear, which usually indicates a loss of engine power or the aircraft ceasing to develop lift. He affirmed: "Obviously, the investigation will reveal the exact reason."
Moreover, added observation from Bhatnagar noted that the footage suggests the plane"came down in a controlled fashion".
Bird strikes are characterised as collisions between a bird and an aircraft either in flight, taking off or landing. When a large flock of birds enters an aircraft engine, it can result in a loss of power.
Measures to mitigate bird strikes include employing lights on planes for increased visibility to birds and utilising loud noises at airports to ward them off. The latest Civil Aviation Authority statistics indicate there were 1,432 bird strike incidents reported in the UK in 2022.
Professor John McDermid, from the University of York, said that it is premature to know "in any detail" what might have triggered the Air India incident — although he pointed out that the timing implies the issue arose "very suddenly".
He stated: "Take-off and landing are the most dangerous phases of flight.
"However, that said, it's surprising that the accident occurred before the aircraft had even got to 200 metres altitude. Pilots can abort take-off until quite late in the take-off roll, so it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly in the final part of the take-off roll, or shortly after take-off, and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.
"Given the levels of redundancy in systems, the fact that aircraft are designed to climb out on only one engine, etc. on initial sight this seems a very surprising accident."
According to the Press Association, Professor McDermid remarked it is "very unlikely" the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel as "there are careful checks on this".
Graham Braithwaite, an expert in aerospace and aviation at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, highlighted that take-off is a "critical stage of flight" where the aircraft is gaining speed and "any problem-solving requires a rapid response".
Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading, noted that the weather conditions at the airport during the crash "appear to have been very good".
He elaborated: "It was a dry and sunny day in Ahmedabad, with temperatures near 40C.
"There was good visibility and light winds from the west. There was no bad weather in the vicinity. There is no indication at this stage that turbulence or other weather conditions were a factor in the crash."
The tragic incident will undergo a thorough investigation by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is also likely to be involved due to the 53 British nationals onboard.
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