Almost one month has passed since one of the blackest aviation disasters in India happened on Air India flight 171. Presently, the minds are charged up as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is about to publish the preliminary report. In the case of the bereaved families and also of the international aviation fraternity, this initial step confirmation may provide a preliminary official indication of what made a Boeing 787 Dreamliner nosedive a mere 30 seconds after a takeoff at Ahmedabad on June 12, which resulted in 271 fatalities.
Of the victims were 241 in-flight passengers and crew members, and more than 30 people on the ground. Amazingly, one of the passengers survived, which remains unanalysable.
First Hints Are Possibly About to Emerge, Although No Blame as Yet
Sources familiar with the inquiry say that the initial report will be pure fact, not meant to fault or blame a specific person. That measure will be subsequently taken. But the world of aviation is waiting with bated breath, trying to figure out what caused the engines of a technologically superior plane such as the Dreamliner to cease working so disastrously quickly.
According to Bloomberg, the black box, which is the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, has been found and successfully decoded. Boeing and GE Aerospace, the engine manufacturer, are currently cooperating with AAIB officials to trace the cause of what went amiss.
What Happened During the Last 30 Seconds?
Videos captured by eyewitnesses, as well as data given by satellite tracking, depict that the plane made a regular takeoff, but it suddenly started to plummet. It crashed down a nearby student hostel in a few seconds, igniting an enormous fireball and panic in the city.
Aerospace expert Bjorn Fehrm observed something ominous: he confirmed that the landing gear never retracted, and the aircraft seemed to have lost engine thrust shortly after take-off, a phenomenon that he termed as highly improbable unless both engines stopped at the same time, something that was extremely unlikely.
The Attention Is Directed to Fuel Control Switches
Among the scariest facts that appear after the initial investigation is the very job of fuel control switches in a cockpit. These switches control the supply of fuel to the engines. When leaned to the cut-off position, either accidentally or as a result of human error, they could essentially put the engines out in seconds.
According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, sources stated that the switches could have been off during the crash. Now the big question that is creeping on investigators: was it by mistake or by design?
According to former airline pilot and aviation safety analyst John Cox, an accidental thumb movement of those switches at a time of high stress could be costly. Then take them off on a run to cutoff, and the engines will come to a dead stop in next to no time, said he.
There Is Still No Evidence of Mechanical and Design Defects
As the speculations go on, there has been no decisive indication of a technical fault in either the aircraft or the aircraft design. There are no safety precaution releases or worldwide notifications from Boeing, GE Aerospace, or the FAA. This is a good sign that there are no risks of larger system defects at hand.
Now it is considered that there was no complete altitude available or time to restart the engines, even with human efforts. The deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT), which is a power backup device, indicates that there was a complete shutdown of power in a dual-engine system, which implies a two-engine shutdown.
The Human Factors Are Now Under Scrutiny
Similar to all modern investigations of aviation accidents, the human factor is also the target of interest. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had flown more than 8,200 hours, whereas First Officer Clive Kunder had approximately 1,100 hours of flying experience.
Even though both of them had their fair share of experience, the professionals warn that cockpit errors cannot be excluded, particularly when it involves extreme pressure during takeoff. There was a historical case in the 1980s involving an instance of a Delta Air Lines pilot who shut down both engines incorrectly in mid-air, but because of the cruising altitude, it was possible to restart the engines successfully. I am sorry to say that AI 171 never had such a luxury.
Did It Have an Emergency Checklist Attempt?
According to some insiders, there is evidence that fuel switches might have been tampered with as an emergency procedure in a bid to restart the engines. There was, however, no compromise to make in a successful recovery since the aircraft was at low altitude; it was just getting off the ground.
One senior pilot told Bloomberg: It could be that they initiated the engine restart checklist, but they did not have the time or altitude to do everything on that list.
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About the Author:
Akanksha Sinha
I'm Akanksha Sinha, an expert in writing sports blogs, news, and various articles for entertainment and more. I bring a unique flair to my work, providing insightful perspectives on the world of sports.
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