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News18
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- News18
‘Pathetic State': What A Pilot Told YouTuber Gaurav Taneja About Airlines Ignoring Safety Measures
Last Updated: Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, opened up about the real reasons behind the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad. YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, also known as Flying Beast, lauded the Air India pilots for refusing to fly unsafe aircraft after the unfortunate crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. Contrary to this, the ex-pilot revealed that airlines habitually overlooked the safety measures, resulting in such tragic incidents. He ruled out bad weather as one of the significant reasons behind the incident and went on to explain the loopholes of the airlines. In a well-informed video on his YouTube channel, Taneja highlighted the safety standards in the Indian aviation industry while addressing various theories about the tragic Air India Flight 171 crash. He said the dual-engine failure was possibly the only reason the Air India flight crashed. 'In the event of bad weather, the aircraft warns the pilots to either delay takeoff or abort takeoff… A 787 has two radars, one on the left and one on the right. For dispatch, it is necessary for at least one to be functional," he said. He continued, 'If the aircraft has 100 pieces of equipment, the rulebook says that it can function even if 30 of them have failed. For instance, an aircraft can fly safely with even one functional weather radar. This is made to operationally assist the airline," further mentioning, 'Let's go with the theory that one engine failed on the ground and the other failed after takeoff… This theory makes a little sense. But this is extremely rare. I've been researching for so many days, and it still doesn't make full sense." The former commercial pilot also threw light on Boeing's close battle with Airbus and revealed how the duo have been constantly taking ahead the entire fleet. 'Airbus took the lead after the launch of the A320. To compete with them, Boeing unveiled the 737 Max, and decided that pilots can safely fly the aircraft with just a two-hour iPad training," he stated. However, according to Taneja, the airlines often neglect to inform pilots about the MCAS system (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), a flight control system developed by Boeing, specifically for the 737 MAX aircraft, which was designed to enhance the aircraft's stability and wondered what if a different software issue could have caused the Air India crash. Further, highlighting the safety standards of the airlines, he said, 'A pilot told me that aircraft are in a pathetic state. Remember I told you about the MELs (Minimum Equipment Lists), and that a plane can fly with even one working radar? These snags are quite common. Every flight has snags. But they have a habit of overlooking these snags." Watch the video here: He went on narrating, 'The on-ground engineer will tell you that they are giving a temporary okay, they know, and the airline knows that the snag will appear during the flight. For every snag that happens, a live report goes to the company. The company knows everything. The company is okaying these snags despite knowing about them, and leaving it to the pilot to deal with these snags during the flight," and puts direct blame on the internal conflicts between the internal departments, which ultimately results in such a situation. At least 274 people, including 241 of the 242 onboard the London-bound Air India flight, died when the Dreamliner 787-8 crashed moments after take-off in Ahmedabad. First Published: June 21, 2025, 18:12 IST
Indian Express
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Flying Beast freezes as he simulates Air India Flight 171 crash: ‘All you can do is watch the ground come at you'
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, suggested that overloading might be one of the reasons behind the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 270 people. In a new video posted on his YouTube channel, which has nearly 10 million subscribers, he simulated the crash under different settings, and debunked several theories around it. At first, he had suggested that a dual engine failure could be the only reason behind a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashing in the manner that Flight 171 did. In the new video, he seemed to point in the direction of pilot error, combined with several other issues. Carrying out further analysis of the dual engine failure theory, he conducted a simulation. 'I was fixated on this reason until today evening. In the sim, everything was falling into place. After takeoff, we killed both engines at 100 feet,' he said, adding that he made the aircraft 'a little heavy'. He said, 'Usually, this aircraft is 62 tonnes, but considering that it was a long flight to London, I've made it 70 tonnes.' After conducting the first simulation, he said, 'It was scary. I froze. There was nothing that you could do. What could you do? All you can do is pray and watch the ground come at you.' Also read – Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, reveals 'every flight has snags' but airlines have 'habit' of ignoring safety issues Citing the video of the crash, he said that the aircraft's nose seemed to tilt up in the moments ahead of the crash, which suggests that the pilot made a last-ditch effort to pull up. 'It's very scary. You have 10 seconds, basically. You can do nothing. You pull the nose up to avoid a heavy impact, and perhaps save a few lives on the ground. It fell like a rock on the ground,' he said. He conducted another simulation with an even heavier aircraft, and discovered that, like Flight 171, it didn't take off at the normal stage. 'I was terrified, I could see the runway about to end. 'Because of the late liftoff, the pilots' were too distracted to pull the landing gear up,' he speculated. In the same video, Taneja suggested that the pilots aboard the aircraft might've been startled when the first engine failed during takeoff, and were left with no choice but to proceed because the engine failure happened after the point of no return on the runway. Once the aircraft was airborne, they mistakenly killed the second engine, and forgot to pull the landing gear up. Previously, Taneja had defended the pilots against any criticism, saying that they are the easiest people to blame in such events, because they aren't around to defend themselves. He has also said that both engines of a Boeing 787 failing is practically unheard of. He said, 'They were distracted. They were supposed to pull up the landing gear at around 100 feet. Now, listen carefully. They climbed for 100-150 feet with a damaged engine, and forgot to pull the landing gear up. In the Boeing 787, pilots are required to follow 'memory items' in the event of an engine failure. When they hit 400 feet, the pilot 'flying' pulled the thrust idle switch for the faulty engine, and the pilot 'monitoring' pulled the fuel control switch off for the wrong engine… One engine was damaged on the ground, the other engine they killed themselves.' In the wake of several flight cancellations following the Flight 171 disaster on June 12, Taneja praised pilots for putting their foot down and refusing to fly potentially unsafe machines. On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered immediate action against three senior Air India officials following 'serious and repeated violations,' the Hindustan Times reported.
News18
3 days ago
- General
- News18
Gaurav Taneja Lauds Air India Pilots For Refusing Unsafe Flights: 'DGCA Should Step In'
Last Updated: It should be noted that Gaurav Taneja is also a former pilot, who has been vocal with regard to aviation safety issues. YouTuber Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday and praised Air India pilots who are now refusing to fly aircraft, which are considered unsafe. Gaurav talked about the precautionary steps after the plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 and urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to step in. 'Lot of Air India flights getting cancelled recently due to technical snags, after the 12th June accident. Pilots hopefully have stopped accepting the aircraft's with so many MEL's each flight. It increases their workload immensely," the YouTuber wrote. 'Everyone knows that the 'Red" airline is being dispatched on minimum equipment's. 90+ MEL's every flight. DGCA should step in and stop this," he added. Lot of Air India flight getting cancelled recently due to technical snags, after the 12th June hopefully have stopped accepting the aircraft's with so many MEL's each flight. It increases their workload knows that the 'Red" airline is…— Gaurav Taneja (@flyingbeast320) June 17, 2025 It should be noted that Gaurav Taneja is also a former pilot who has been vocal with regard to aviation safety issues. He flew for IndiGo Airlines before pursuing a career in social media. His YouTube channel, '74th Squadron," offers aviation-related content, including pilot lifestyle, industry issues, and behind-the-scenes stories. For the unversed, on June 12, Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (VT-ANB), crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The incident resulted in the death of 241 out of the 242 people on board, leaving only one survivor. Air India confirmed the accident in an official statement on X and wrote, 'UPDATE: Air India confirms that flight AI171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on 12 June 2025, was involved in an accident. The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew. The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital." After the incident, several of Air India's flights have been diverted or cancelled.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Gaurav Taneja defends deceased pilots in Air India crash; calls out big companies for shifting blame: ‘It gets easy to claim insurance'
Gaurav Taneja, popularly known for his YouTube channel Flying Beast, recently shared his opinion on the Air India aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. He responded to online claims blaming the deadly crash on a mistake made by the pilots. Defending the pilots, Gaurav explained why he believes the crash did not occur due to pilot error. For the unversed, Gaurav served as a commercial pilot for over a decade and was a captain at Air Asia before getting involved in a whistleblower scandal. In the video he shared, Gaurav said, 'Pilots outside India are claiming that the crash happened because the Indian pilots retracted flap instead of the gear because the videos before the crash show that the gear is down. Pilots gear up when the flight is 100 feet above the surface. They said wings are supposed to create lift, which is supposed to keep the aircraft in the air and when you retract the flaps there is a loss of lift and that loss of lift caused the flight to go down but I have a serious problem with this theory.' He added, 'It's very easy to blame the pilots when they are not there to defend themselves. Boeing and Air India both are big companies so leave them and let's blame the pilot. Also, it gets easy to claim insurance if you blame it on the pilot. That is one more reason for big companies to not take it on themselves. Americans think Indian pilots aren't very competent but that's not the case.' Gaurav insisted that this theory is false, in his view, as both handles — for flap and gear — are not located near each other and are far apart, making it very unlikely for a pilot to confuse the two. He also demonstrated that even if the pilots accidentally pulled the wrong handle, they had a window of 18 seconds to correct the mistake. However, he admitted that he has never flown a Boeing 787, which is the model that crashed, but noted that he has flown Airbus aircraft, which have similar functionalities. 'There is Murphy's Law that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. If something has to go wrong, it will go wrong whether it happens in one or ten years. This has happened with so many pilots. Even if you take the flap up, the whole process takes 18 seconds,' he said. He further pointed out that even if one pilot made the mistake, the other pilot would likely catch it as it would fall within their peripheral vision, allowing them to correct the error. Gaurav noted that such incidents had occurred in the past due to confusion between flaps and gear, which is why changes were implemented. 'Pilots were mixing gear with flap. It has happened before but a flight doesn't crash because of this reason. None of the aircrafts have gone down because of this reason,' he said. Gaurav shared another point defending the pilots, stating, 'Even if the flap is zero and both the pilots made the mistake, an aircraft is certified to fly on a single engine, on full weight, full fuel and everything.' He ended his video saying, 'At this point of time everything is an assumption. However, I don't agree with this theory.'
Indian Express
13-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
‘Only 2% airline accidents happen due to technical error': Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, narrates what could've been ‘worst aviation disaster in India'
Gaurav Taneja, the YouTuber best known as Flying Beast on social media, said in a post on June 12 that the Air India crash in Ahmedabad was probably caused by a 'rare' instance of dual engine failure. Some years ago, he appeared on the Dostcast podcast where he narrated an incredible story about a near-disaster that was caused by an error made by the First Officer. 'It could've been the worst disaster in India,' he said. Citing fatigue and the environment as reasons behind the incident, Gaurav said that the majority of aviation accidents are caused by human error. 'In aviation, 98% accidents happen because of human error. Only 2% accidents happen because of technical errors,' he said, highlighting the importance of collaboration in the cockpit. 'If the thinking of the two pilots in the cockpit isn't aligned, it can be very unsafe… Ego clashes typically happen when two senior captains are flying. A junior pilot will tend to listen to his senior… Pilots are taught how to conduct themselves in a cockpit and leave aside their personal issues…' he said. Gaurav mentioned the term 'cockpit gradient', which refers to the hesitation that a First Officer might have in pointing out a Captain's mistake because of cultural reasons; it's most prevalent in South Korea. 'To correct a senior is considered disrespectful in that culture, it's not as bad in India, and it's negligible in the West. A hierarchy should be maintained, both pilots shouldn't have equal power, but the difference shouldn't be huge. You should have that respect, but you should also be assertive when the situation arises,' he said. Also read – Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, said pilots pressured to perform unsafe landings in India, raised concerns about safety protocols Launching into his story, he said, 'There was a Mumbai-Delhi redeye flight. The pilots must've started their day at 12 am, landed in Delhi at around 8 am, and they were ready to fly back at 9 am. Obviously, it's a tiring schedule. As soon as they took off, they suffered a bird hit, and engine number one caught fire. In such a situation, every alarm in the cockpit goes off. It's like Holi and Diwali in there, every alarm is going off simultaneously. The lights are all red. This is what happens in an emergency situation. It's called a continuous repetitive chime (CRC). Anything that is serious but not that urgent, it's orange alert. The chime rings once.' He continued, 'In this case, all the alarms were going off. Now, there is a procedure to shut down the damaged engine, because if you don't, there can be further damage. Planes can fly on one engine. All the modern planes can safely fly on one engine, even at maximum load. In the cockpit, every decision is made on the basis of a confirmation from the Captain. The co-pilot would have to ask the Captain, 'Engine number one, shut down?' and he would have to confirm. Only then can he shut the engine down.' He added, 'In this case, the co-pilot panicked. He put his hand on the toggle for engine number two, asked for confirmation. The Captain had too much on his plate; communicating with the ATC, dealing with all the alarms… The First Officer cut engine two. Engine one was already out. So, for 10 seconds until the Captain recognised what had happened, the aircraft was flying with both engines off. The Captain had the presence of mind to spot what had happened, and he switched the engine on again immediately. This report has been published on the DGCA website, you can read it. Passengers obviously had no idea. It could've been the worst disaster in India.' In addition to his vlogs, Gaurav also posts content about the aviation industry, and analyses accidents. He worked as a commercial pilot for a decade, and served as a Captain at IndiGo and Air Asia. Gaurav was involved in a high-profile whistleblower scandal in 2020, when he made allegations about potential safety lapses at Air Asia. He was subsequently terminated from his job, and has since focused on his career as an influencer. After the June 12 tragedy, Gaurav took to X and wrote, 'Looks like a Dual Engine Failure after Take Off. Nothing short of a complete power loss can force a modern aircraft into that kind of sink rate, right after take off. Praying for everyone on board.'
