Latest news with #planeCrash
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘I Don't Know How I Survived:' Air India Crash Passenger Speaks From Hospital
The sole survivor of an Air India Boeing plane crash recalls what happened after the crash and how he escaped the wreckage.
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Why did the Air India flight crash? Here's how experts will investigate the disaster in Ahmedabad
Investigators in India are working to identify the cause of the Air India plane crash that killed all but one of the 242 passengers on board on Thursday 12 June. Dozens of people on the ground also died. It was the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The flight, which had been bound for London Gatwick, came down shortly after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft departed at 08:08:44 GMT (1.38pm local time) from runway 23 and climbed only a few hundred feet before crashing less than a minute later. With speculation rife about the cause of the disaster, Indian safety experts have been joined by teams from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to work out what happened as the disaster on flight AI171 unfolded. Both 'black boxes' – the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – have been recovered from the wreckage. The information they contain will help investigators piece together the doomed flight and determine the causes. The investigators will gather evidence from air-traffic control, radar, CCTV and observers to understand what factors were involved in the accident. They will also talk to the sole survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, about what he recalls during the crash. Lessons on how to improve safety in future will be shared with the aviation community. A preliminary report is expected in about three months. If there is evidence of a previously unknown problem that could jeopardise the safety of other aircraft, they will announce their initial conclusions as soon as possible. As always in the early stages of an investigation, aviation safety experts will consider a wide spectrum of possible contributory factors. These are the key areas they will be studying. Mechanical issues Was there some kind of failure, possibly involving loss of power, that left the pilots helpless to control their aircraft in the crucial seconds after take off? Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University told The Independent it 'seems likely' the accident was caused by system or multiple systems failures. The available evidence appears compatible with both engines simultaneously losing thrust at or close to take-off. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered Air India to carry out checks on its Boeing 787 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines – as fitted to the plane that crashed – 'with immediate effect'. The checks include fuel and engine control systems. But it is noteworthy that the directive is solely aimed at Air India, perhaps indicating that the invesigators have not found a fundamental problem with the aircraft or its engines. Some attention is being paid in the wider aviation community to Boeing's 'thrust control malfunction accommodation' (TCMA) system. This software is designed automatically to shut down an engine in a case of 'uncontrolled high thrust' – when it suddenly goes to high power without pilot input, or stays on high power despite being commanded to idle. Interest is heightened because of Boeing's 'maneuvering characteristics augmentation system' (MCAS), whose flawed design triggered two fatal crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max. Twin-engined aircraft like the Boeing 787 are engineered to be able to take off on a single engine, even if a bird strike happens at the worst possible moment. But if both engines fail, the pilots have no way to recover the situation. In the ' Miracle on the Hudson' plane crash in 2009, a US Airways aircraft flew into a flock of birds shortly after take off from New York's La Guardia airport. Both engines lost power. On that occasion, the plane had gained sufficient altitude to glide. The pilots were able to ditch the Airbus A320 in the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, with all on board surviving. At Ahmedabad, simultaneous bird strikes might have put both engines out of action as the Air India aircraft climbed. Human factors At this stage in the investigation, it would be quite wrong to attribute any blame to the captain or first officer. But investigators will be looking at how the flight crew worked during the tragically short flight of Air India flight AI171. Taking off with a heavy load of fuel, passengers and cargo in hot weather is challenging at the best of times. Could these highly trained pilots have made decisions and taken actions that jeopardised the safety of the aircraft? A captain for a leading US carrier told The Independent some focus should be given to the flap settings for 'a heavy airplane on a hot day'. The flaps are the moveable panels on an aircraft's wings that, when extended, reduce the stall speed. In other words, the plane can take off and climb at a lower speed than would be necessary without the flaps. The pilot said that an incorrect setting could have resulted in 'poor performance which ultimately may have led to a stall'. In 2008, 154 passengers and crew aboard a Spanair flight from Madrid to Las Palmas died when the plane crashed immediately after take off. The investigation found that the pilots had failed to deploy the flaps for departure, and the take-off warning system failed to sound. Investigators will assess evidence from the two black boxes recovered from the Air India aircraft. They will: Listen to the conversation on the flight deck. Study the flight 's technical parameters. They will also delve into the background and health of the crew, and the actions of staff on the ground – including air-traffic controllers – as the aircraft prepared to depart. Malicious act Tragically, over the years individuals and groups have repeatedly downed aircraft for reasons ranging from grudges to terrorism. But Professor Baum said it was 'unlikely there was anything more sinister at play'. Should passengers worry about flying on Air India or the Boeing 787? No. Air India is a highly professional airline with a strong safety culture. Until this crash, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had delivered more than one billion passengers safely to their destinations. In the absence of evidence, speculation has become so intense that moderators at the respected PPRuNe (Professional Pilots' Rumour Network) shut down the online thread about the crash within four days. One of the moderators wrote: 'This thread has become a hamsterwheel of repetition and guesswork mixed in with nuggets of information and professionalism. Until we have the time and ability to sort out which is which, it will be closed.'
The Sun
5 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Air India jet crash fireball was so intense it may have MELTED black boxes as families face agonising wait for answers
THE Air India plane crash generated so much heat that it might have melted the aircraft's black boxes, investigators warned. As grieving families agonisingly wait for answers, authorities rushing to work out the cause of the incident have cautioned the inquiry could take a long time. 8 8 8 The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed on a medical college hostel soon after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, while 241 people on board and 29 on the ground were killed in one of India's worst aviation disaster in decades. Amit Singh, a former pilot and an aviation expert, said the recovery of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - or black boxes - are crucial to piece together the sequence of events. Planes usually carry two black boxes, which are small but tough electronic flight data recorders. One records flight data, such as altitude and speed, whilst the other monitors the cockpit sound. But whilst both devices are designed to survive accidents, investigators have warned the heat generated from the crash could have melted the boxes. The first was recovered from a rooftop near where the plane came down just 28 hours after the crash. We already know that the pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, made a desperate mayday call to air traffic control in the moments before the disaster. He cried out: "'Thrust not achieved [...] falling [...] Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" The two pilots then wrestled for 17 seconds with the controls as the jet sank through the air before careening into the buildings below. New video of doomed Air India flight 'shows Boeing 787 did lose power' just before crash Sabharwal had 22 years of experience and had racked up 8,200 in the air. The plane gained just a few hundred feet of altitude when the power apparently cut out, killing more Brits than any air disaster since 9/11. Singh said the investigating authorities will scan CCTV footage of the nearby area and speak with witnesses to get to the root cause of the crash. Investigators will also study the pilot training records, total load of the aircraft and any thrust issues related to the plane's engine. The Indian government has also set up a separate committee to examine the causes leading to the crash and work out ways to prevent a disaster like this happening again. But despite the large cohort of investigators working to find out what happened on that fateful flight, aircraft bosses warned it could take some time because of the "charred" plane. 8 8 The committee is expected to file a preliminary report within three months. Authorities have also begun inspecting and carrying out additional maintenance and checks of Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to prevent any future incident. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet. The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts. Since the devastating incident Air India has cancelled multiple scheduled flights. Flight AI 159 was planned to depart Ahmedabad, India, at 1.10pm local time on Tuesday, and arrive at Gatwick airport at 6.25pm BST. Air India's website shows the flight was initially delayed by one hour and 50 minutes but was later cancelled. A flight from Gatwick to Amritsar, India, set to depart at 8pm BST was also axed, as well as Paris-bound flight AI143 from Delhi. The cancelled flights were scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is the same type of aircraft that crashed on June 12. 8 8 8
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Family bids emotional goodbye to pilot of doomed Air India plane: ‘He tried his best'
Mourners gathered on Tuesday for the funeral of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, one of two pilots at the helm of the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick that crashed just outside Ahmedabad airport last week. All but one of AI171's 242 passengers and crew died after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner came down within 30 seconds of take-off, crashing into a building housing trainee medics at a major medical college. Only one passenger survived, and at least 29 people on the ground, including five medical students inside the hostel, were also killed. Aged 56, Captain Sabharwal was a veteran pilot with 8,200 hours of flying experience. His mayday call to air traffic controllers was the last communication received from the cockpit before the crash, and local residents have called him a 'hero' for diverting the plane away from a densely populated residential area, suggesting he could have saved hundreds of lives on the ground. He lived with his parents in Mumbai's Powai, and they received his remains on Tuesday morning after his identity was confirmed through DNA testing. Officials said the casket carrying Captain Sabharwal's remains reached Mumbai airport from Ahmedabad by a flight and were taken to his residence in Powai's Jal Vayu Vihar. Indian TV channels broadcast footage of the funeral at the pilot's house, where his elderly father offered a final tribute to his son as friends and family gathered around. "Only a few days ago, he told his father that he would be quitting his job to look after him full time," said Dilip Lande, a local Shiv Sena politician who visited the family to offer his condolences. A friend of the family said Sabharwal was a 'very grounded and a wonderful son'. 'He tried his best. He sacrificed his life to save others. I salute him,' a friend told NDTV news. A neighbour of the Sabharwals recounted the pilot's last message for them before he flew out. "Whenever he flew out, Sumeet would ask us to keep an eye on his father. He has now been left devastated," a neighbour said, reported Hindustan Times. Local residents near the scene of the crash said their three-storey apartment building was directly on the flight's path and that Captain Sabharwal appeared to have swerved to avoid them in pursuit of open ground. Jahanvi Rajput, 28, told The Sun that "thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal, we survived. He's a hero. It is because of him we are alive.' "The green space next to us was visible to him and that's where he went," she said. The flight instead crashed into the top floor of an accommodation block where medical students had assembled to eat lunch. On Monday investigators recovered the flight's cockpit voice recorder. Authorities suspect the crash was the result of an 'extremely rare' loss of power from both engines at once, and will analyse both 'black box' flight data recorders to help understand how that happened.
Irish Times
7 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Air India plane crash: investigators to examine pilots' voice recordings
Investigators are preparing to study the pilots' last words for clues as to the cause of last week's Air India plane crash after recovering the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage. The voice recorder was in the Boeing 787 aircraft's second black box, which the Indian authorities said they had found on Sunday. The first, containing the flight data recorder, was located within 28 hours of Thursday's disaster in Ahmedabad, in which at least 279 people died. Most of the victims were onboard flight AI171 bound for London Gatwick, all but one of whom died after the plane crashed into buildings moments after failing to properly take off from Ahmedabad airport. READ MORE The captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, sent a mayday call seconds after the plane left the runway. No evidence or explanation has yet been shared from the investigation, led by Indian officials with assistance from the UK and US They were reported to be initially focusing on engine failure and issues with the wing flaps and landing gear to trace the causes of one of the world's worst ever plane crashes. Most relatives of the 279 known victims, 38 of whom were killed on the ground, were still waiting on Monday for results of DNA testing before health officials could return the bodies of their ones. About 80 of the deceased had been identified by late on Sunday, according to a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, Rajnish Patel. 'This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,' Dr Patel said. While some mourners have held funerals, most are facing an anguished wait. One of the latest victims identified was a former chief minister of Gujarat state and senior member of India's ruling party, whose flag-draped coffin was carried in Ahmedabad by soldiers. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian onboard the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Only one passenger survived the crash, a British man, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. - Guardian It was the first crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Air India was ordered to carry out additional maintenance and checks on the 33 remaining planes in its fleet but big airlines around the world continue to operate the model as normal. More than 1,000 are in regular service. Investigators will also have to consider the possibility of human error and aspects such as aircraft maintenance at the airline, which is owned by Tata Group. The company has been trying to revamp its ageing fleet. Air India's chair, N Chandrasekaran, told staff on Monday that the crash should be a catalyst to improve safety, urging employees to be resolute in the face of any criticism. During a meeting attended by nearly 700 staff at the company's headquarters near Delhi, Chandrasekaran said it was the most heartbreaking crisis of his career. 'We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,' he said. 'We need to wait for the investigation ... It's a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation.' An Air India 787 bound for New Delhi from Hong Kong turned back as a precautionary measure on Monday after the pilot suspected a technical issue, a source told Reuters. Flight AI315 landed safety in Hong Kong at 1.15pm local time and was undergoing checks. Boeing has further scaled back its presence at the Paris airshow, one of the global aerospace industry's leading commercial events, cancelling a media reception on Monday. Its chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, had already pulled out and a Boeing team has been sent to Ahmedabad to offer assistance to the investigation.
