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Mint
13-06-2025
- General
- Mint
What led to Air India plane crash? Experts weigh 4 possible reasons behind tragedy
Investigators are racing against time to find the cause of the deadly Air India plane crash — one of the India's worst plane crashes recorded in a decade. India has already launched an investigation into the fatal crash of the London-bound Air India plane that plunged and hit a residential area in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, minutes after takeoff on Thursday. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew onboard the Air India plane were killed in the crash. With the investigation underway, several experts have weighed in on the possible reasons that could have led to the crash of the Air India plane. Here's what they said after analysing early evidence, videos and photos of the crash: US experts said on Thursday that the plane involved in the crash at Ahmedabad did not seem 'properly configured' and that the crash appeared 'surprising' at first glance. Analysing the videos and photos of the crash, Aviation safety consultant John M Cox said the grainy images of the flight suggested that one area of inquiry was likely to be whether the slats and flaps were in the correct position as the plane attempted to climb. 'It's hard to tell but from looking at the aircraft from behind… it doesn't look like the trailing edge flaps are in the position I would have expected them to be,' he was quoted by news agency PTI as saying. The CEO of Washington DC-based Safety Operating Systems, however, cautioned that the image quality is "not good enough to make that conclusion. It's just an area where I know that they're going to look.' As per the initial footage, the aircraft initially climbed on a normal trajectory before it suddenly began descending. Experts noted the plane appeared to maintain a nose-up attitude, a posture usually not associated with a normal descent. This, according to them, suggests a significant and sudden loss of engine thrust, the Hindustan Times reported. 'The image shows the airplane with the nose rising and it continuing to sink,' Cox said. 'That says that the airplane is not making enough lift," he said. He said, "The slats and flaps should be positioned so that the wing makes more lift at lower speeds." Former pilot Saurabh Bhatnagar told Indian news TV channel New Delhi Television LTD the incident appears to involve 'multiple bird hits'. Bird strikes refers to a collision between a bird and an aircraft which is in flight, taking-off or landing. Bhatnagar was quoted as saying: 'It looks, prima facie, like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power." He noted that the take-off was "perfect" but "the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift." However, Sam Thomas, president of the Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA) told HT that it was 'highly unlikely' a flock of birds disabled both engines. A report cited experts analysing why the aircraft's landing gear was not retracted. Capt Manoj Hathi, a former Air India official, told the Times of India, "It's possible that a dual engine flame-out was the reason the landing gear could not be retracted. Dual engine failure could occur due to bird ingestion or fuel contamination. Looking at the trajectory and body angle of the aircraft, it appears as if the aircraft has stalled because of loss of speed." Former pilot Ehsan Khalid explained that the landing gear is raised as soon as the flight takes off. "Since the landing gear was down, it is possible that a loss of engine was detected beforehand... The biggest question is why the landing gear was not up....," he said. According to the TOI, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its statement the pilots gave a MAYDAY call seconds after take-off. This information reportedly supporting the theory that a dual engine failure occurred probably after the aircraft crossed the speed beyond which a take-off cannot be safely aborted. Other pilots said the possibility of a dual engine failure is a rare event with about seven documented accidents in the past seven decades. Former pilot Ehsan Khalid told the Times of India the aircraft appeared to have faced a loss of power, which could be attributed to engine malfunction. However, he stressed that it is highly unlikely for both engines to fail simultaneously, especially due to a bird strike within such a short timeframe. "The visuals show that the aircraft faced a loss of power... The loss of power can be due to engine malfunction, but it is very unlikely that both engines would lose power simultaneously... It is a very big engine, and it is rare that both engines lose power due to a bird hit in a one-minute duration," he was quoted as saying. Although just preliminary clues and theories are emerging, a definitive cause remains elusive until the government probe concludes. Professor John McDermid, of the University of York, said it was too early to know 'in any detail'
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
First fatal crash of Boeing 787 since it took off in 2011
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday represents the first crash of the widely popular long-haul aircraft since it entered service in 2011. Air India Flight 171, bound for London with 242 passengers and crew aboard, went down shortly after departing Ahmedabad airport. Boeing shares tumbled more than 8 per cent following news of the crash. As per Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, VT-ANB had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, and almost 8,000 take-offs and landings, including some 700 cycles in the past 12 months. This is average for that aircraft build year/period. There are 1,148 Boeing 787 variants in service globally, with an average age of 7.5 years old. 'The 787 has been in revenue service with Air India under government management for 15 years, and it has been one of the safest Gen5+ passenger airliners ever made. It's shocking that there was a catastrophic incident on a plane with qualified crew and extensive experience in flying hours and maintenance,' said Mark D Martin, MRAeS (Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society UK)and CEO of Martin Consulting. Aviation consultant John M Cox, the chief executive of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at. 'At this point, it's very, very, very early, we don't know a whole lot,' he said. 'But the 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened.' The US planemaker said it was ready to support Air India following Thursday's crash. 'We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them,' Boeing said in a statement. 'Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.' The jet involved in Thursday's crash was equipped with GE Aerospace's GEnx-18 engines. 'Deeply saddened by the loss of Air India flight AI-171; activated our emergency response team, and we are prepared to support our customer and the investigation,' the enginemaker said in a statement. Boeing has secured orders for more than 2,500 of the 787s and has delivered 1,189 jets to airlines or lessors worldwide. The aircraft's creation marked a breakthrough in design, promising 20 per cent greater fuel efficiency through the use of durable, lightweight composite materials and more electrical systems. The 787 first flew in 2011 and entered service the same year after development delays. But its early years were plagued with problems, though none resulted in fatalities until Thursday's crash. In July 2013, a fire broke out on an empty Ethiopian Airlines 787 parked at Heathrow Airport, causing extensive heat damage but no injuries. The blaze was traced to lithium-manganese dioxide batteries powering an emergency locator transmitter. Battery problems and wiring issues prompted safety investigations by aviation authorities in the US, Japan and Europe. Air India's relationship with the 787 has been particularly challenging since the carrier ordered 27 Dreamliners. The airline had experienced 136 technical problems with its 787 fleet as of late 2013, according to India's aviation ministry. These included software faults that forced flight diversions, cracked windshields, and various other malfunctions that prompted Boeing to upgrade software and replace components whenever aircraft could be taken out of service. Air India had 34 of the Boeing 787 in service at the time of the incident, including this aircraft. The airline has an additional 20 787 on order and letter of intent for options an additional 24 aircraft. The crash adds to broader scrutiny of Boeing, which has been involved in several high-profile accidents in recent years. Two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max—Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019—led to a worldwide grounding of that aircraft type. (With Bloomberg inputs)
