The cause of today’s Air India tragedy could be revealed.
One month has passed since the 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India on its way to London crashed just 30 seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. Everyone was startled and eager for answers after 260 people died, including all but one on the tragic June 12 flight.
A preliminary investigation, the results of which might be a major step towards understanding the causes for the disaster, is anticipated to be announced today amid intense speculation over what caused the fatal crash.
What’s known so far
Around 1:38 p.m. on June 12, the Air India aircraft departed Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The pilot called for “Mayday” just seconds after takeoff, and the aircraft exploded and fell on top of a medical college dorm building.
The flight’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, sometimes referred to as “black boxes,” were found in the hostel building a few days later. The devices, which are essential for investigating an aviation mishap, were found undamaged.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing are supporting the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is investigating the accident. The preliminary investigative report, which primarily addresses the plane’s fuel control switches and engine thrust problems, may soon be released, according to recent reports.
Since the accident, there has been a lot of attention paid to both Air India and the Boeing aircraft. Investigators have not discovered any mechanical or design issues with the Boeing aircraft or engines, according to a Bloomberg article released on Friday.
‘That’s improbable like hell’
Bjorn Fehrm, a veteran fighter pilot and aerospace specialist, said it is highly unusual for both engines to go out simultaneously. “Everything is normal until they don’t put in the (landing) gear, and very shortly after the aircraft is losing thrust,” Fehrm told Bloomberg about the video.
“The 787 Dreamliner and other commercial aircraft are fully capable of taking off with just one engine if necessary,” the former fighter pilot noted.
“But as to scenarios where both engines power down simultaneously? That’s improbable like hell,” Fehrm was quoted as saying.
Focus shifts on fuel control switches
Engine failure has been widely believed to be the most likely cause of the catastrophe ever since it occurred. But according to recent reports, investigators are now concentrating on the movement of fuel control switches, which are located in the cockpit’s center console.
The airplane is equipped with two GE Aerospace engines, which are turned on and off via switches. The jet was full of fuel and had just taken off for a long voyage to London.
An aviation safety expert previously told news agency Reuters that it is unlikely for a pilot to inadvertently bump the switch, although nothing is certain yet. “You can’t bump them and they move,” John Cox stated. “Those engines will shut off in literally seconds if you move those switches from run to cutoff,” Cox stated.
He did, however, also depict a situation in which the pilot was trying to turn the switch for one engine when it failed for whatever reason, but instead flipped the switch for the other engine, shutting off the fuel supply to that engine as well.
Only as the inquiry continues will everything become known. The first step in determining the cause of the fatal disaster that claimed the lives of 241 persons on board is the preliminary investigative report.