‘An act of sabotage is an act of terrorism against India': Gaurav Taneja says he'll ‘lose his mind' if this Air India 171 theory is true
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, known as Flying Beast online, offered his detailed theory for what could've caused the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad. On June 12, over 250 people died when a Boeing 787 crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. Investigations are still ongoing. But in these last few days, Taneja has offered several comments on the case, beginning with his suggestion shortly after the tragedy that it seemed to be a rare case of 'dual engine failure'. He has since defended the pilots against questions about their competence, and has also raised concerns about airline safety standards in India. Before he became a content creator full time, Taneja graduated from IIT Kharagpur and served as a commercial pilot for a decade.
In his new video, which runs at nearly an hour long, he laid out his reasons for suggesting that pilot error could have partially been the cause for the crash. This comes days after he said that the easiest thing to do for airlines is to blame the pilots, because they typically aren't alive to defend themselves after disasters of this magnitude. In the past, Taneja also blew the whistle on Air Asia, accusing the airline of slack safety protocols and dangerous KRAs for pilots. He was terminated from his job.
Also read – Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, opens up on chance of pilot error in detailed analysis of Air India Flight 171 crash: 'May have killed the wrong engine'
In his video, he dunked several theories around the Air India 171 crash, ruling out a bird strike, bad weather, or even a software malfunction. He suggested that the aircraft suffered a single-engine failure during takeoff, at a point when it was too late to abort. He also suggested that the aircraft was overloaded with cargo, which caused it to consume a larger than normal chunk of runway. Air India 171 crashed seconds after takeoff, when it dropped out of the sky after seemingly losing all lift and power. Experts have also indicated that the ram air turbine (RAT) was automatically deployed as a last-ditch measure, indicating all loss of power.
Taneja said in the video, 'Fuel contamination is a wild theory. If this turns out to be true, I'll lose my mind. Let me tell you why this can't happen. On that day, several aircraft in Ahmedabad would've received fuel. The aircraft in question must've stood in the bay, it would've taxied to the runway, it took off. There must be some fuel leftover from its previous flight as well. The truck that fuelled this aircraft must've fuelled other aircraft as well.'
He said that there are several checks and balances in place to prevent contaminated fuel from entering an aircraft. 'The fuel supplier checks the fuel first, airline engineers conduct checks as well. Fuelling trucks are so advanced these days, they also have the capability to check. If it finds that there is something wrong with the fuel, it will stop the fuelling process itself. It's all automatic, the aircraft handles everything itself. So now, if you tell me that the fuel was contaminated, it's an act of sabotage. It's an act of terrorism against the country. I don't want to believe this is true.'
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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Air crews fasten mental seatbelts against trauma
A day after the deadly Air India crash , a copilot withdrew from a scheduled flight even after reporting for duty. His colleagues said the pilot mentioned he was feeling ill, though he did not show any visible physical discomfort. The airline later operated the flight with a separate crew. The June 12 Air India crash killed hundreds and sent shockwaves that are still reverberating through the aviation industry. Flight crews have the added responsibility of dealing with their own grief and fears, while also calming the flying public. 'I could not help but put myself in the shoes of those on board,' a senior pilot wrote in an internal chat group of an airline. 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The Dreamliner clocked millions of flying hours across airlines globally and never saw a fatal crash prior to Ahmedabad. The plane has multiple inbuilt redundancies for critical components. Especially then, for people who trust technology thousands of feet up in the air, the helplessness of the Ahmedabad crew strikes deep. A grainy video captured on a smartphone by a student showed the ill-fated aircraft taking off, then descending before exploding into a ball of fire. With a probe into the accident in its initial phase, various theories suggest dual engine failure to possible sabotage. 'We are taught that a double-engine failure is kind of impossible, if not caused by external factors like a bird hit,' said a pilot who operates an aircraft similar to the 787. '(But now) though we are highly trained, doubt starts creeping into the mind; it's natural. Following the crash, pilots have become extra cautious about minute faults in an aircraft, unlike before, he said. 'I am questioning the status of every item in the minimum equipment list (MEL),' the pilot said. MEL specifies which equipment can be inoperative on an aircraft while still allowing it to operate safely. A double engine failure occurring seconds after take-off, when the plane was only several hundred feet off the ground, would have left the two pilots without any time to respond to the emergency. 'Go to the stopwatch on your smartphone. Press start. Wait for 32 seconds. Press stop. Now ask yourself: What could you do in that time? Brush your teeth? Have a shower? Wear your clothes? Have a cup of coffee? None of the above. That is the time the pilots of AI 171 got,' read a message on a pilot's social media group. No Single Answer Yet Continuous coverage on television and social media is further fuelling panic, multiple airline crews told ET, requesting for factual reporting. 'The media starts to conduct parallel trials with ill-informed guests making unsubstantiated accusations. This leads to severe mental trauma and becomes a stumbling block in their performance,' Parliamentarian Priyanka Chaturvedi said in a letter to civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, urging guidelines for reporting aviation accidents. Airlines are also rushing to respond to the new crisis while hoping that it would be self-healing. Air India has established a dedicated 'peer group' to provide mental health support and counselling for crew. Comprising former Air Force officers and experienced female pilots, the group offers pre-flight counselling and emotional support. 'There is no uniform fix to this. It will depend on his/her mental strength on how quickly they can cope with it,' an airline executive said. As airline crews cope with the tragedy and lean on improved mental health resources, they are also returning to the skies. 'When something like this happens, it makes it almost impossible not to feel the weight of the souls on board. I was scared but since I was already at the airport, I decided to be the strength to my team. I check on my colleagues after work and we reassure each other,' said a flight attendant working for Air India. Family members too are burying their fears under hope. 'I used to be very proud of that crisp white shirt but now my heart feels heavy when either of them wears that uniform,' said a mother of two pilot sons. 'Have we chosen a dangerous profession for our sons, I sometimes think. But my husband tells me, there were 29 medical students in the college who also died. Did they choose the wrong profession?'
