AAIB transports aircraft debris to airport premises, report likely to be out in 3-4 months, say officials
On Sunday, a somber sight unfolded on Ahmedabad's Shahibaug roads as trailer trucks transported debris from the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which crashed shortly after take off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, to a secure location.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) started transporting the debris from the Air India flight AI 171 crash site on Saturday night, with assistance from local administration, including the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the City Police. On Sunday, the tail section, which had lodged into the mess hall of the Atulyam hostel of BJP Medical College in Meghaninagar, was moved to a secure site within the airport premises as part of the ongoing investigation.
Notably, several eyewitnesses and first responders have confirmed to The Indian Express that no major portion of the aircraft had remained unaffected by the crash.
Due to the crash, followed by subsequent explosions with the high temperature blaze caused by the aviation fuel, which burns at 1,030 degrees celsius, only the tail end of the aircraft — embedded into the mess building — was the most 'complete' part of the plane which was in one piece. The tail end was later removed from the building with the help of cranes.
First responders had said that there was no fuselage left to speak of and the different parts of the aircraft had only been identified by the direction of the tail that was lodged in the hostel building.
While shifting the wreckage, this part of the aircraft had purportedly gotten stuck in one of the trees that line the roads in Shahibaug area of the city, leading to a minor traffic jam till personnel from the AMC helped free the aircraft part from the branches and the convoy could reach its destination.
'The AAIB are moving the aircraft parts from the crash. Since the tail part of the plane is very large, it may have gotten stuck on a tree during transport so that was cleared immediately and the movement continued without any issues. The debris is being moved to the GUJSAIL (Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited) hangar, which is within the airport premises,' Jaypalsingh Rathore, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl.CP) for Sector-2, told The Indian Express.
The GUJSAIL building is also acting as camp office of the AAIB investigators for the probe duration and had initially housed the aircraft's black boxes after their recovery, before they were moved out by the investigation team.
The Indian Express had on June 18 reported that all parts of the London Gatwick bound aircraft, which had crashed in less than a minute after take off, would be moved to secure site after a preliminary investigation of the crash site by the AAIB and it's international partners, including the National Transport Safety Bureau (NTSB) of the US, and Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the British Department of Transport.
Providing details about the liaising between the AAIB and the Gujarat government, Dr Rajendra Kumar, Secretary of Civil Aviation for the State, told The Indian Express, 'The AAIB has complete jurisdiction over the crash site and the debris. We know that they are moving the aircraft parts to a secure location and then (they) will conduct reconstruction and further investigation. We have provided all logistical support for the same.'
When asked about the timeline of air accidents such as these, Dr Rajendra Kumar said, 'The preliminary investigation in such cases takes about 3-4 months and the final report comes after a month. We are not sure how the AAIB will be conducting their investigation in this particular case, but these are the usual timelines.'
While it will likely take another day to transport all pieces of the massive passenger plane, the debris of which is spread over 500 metres, to be transported back to the secure location, the municipal corporation has provided vehicles as well as deployed an escort of firefighters with power tools and engineers to help with the process.
The London-bound aircraft with 242 persons on board plunged into a medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 241 on board. One passenger survived. At least 20 people lost their lives on the ground.
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