Tata Group chairman Chandrasekaran 'apologises' for Ahmedabad Air India plane crash
Over 270 people were killed on June 12 when a London-bound Air India plane -- a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad and crashed less than a minute after takeoff.
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Human error? engine fault? Air India chairman urges patience amid AI171 crash theories
Tata Sons and Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran on Wednesday said that the ill-fated Air India flight AI171, which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 killing over 270 people, had no prior red flags, and both its engines were in good condition. Calling it an 'extremely difficult situation', he added that investigators must wait for the black box analysis to uncover the truth. An Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed for London with 242 passengers including crew onboard, crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad seconds after takeoff on June 12. The crash killed 241 of the 241 passengers onboard and several others on ground. 'It is an extremely difficult situation where I have no words to express to console any of the families of those who died,' Chandrasekaran said, in an interview with Times Now, and extended apologies over the tragedy. 'I deeply regret that this accident happened in a Tata-run airline. And I feel very sorry. All we can do is to be with the families at this time, grieve with them and we will do everything to support them at this hour and beyond,' Chandrasekaran said in a statement. When asked about the possible causes of the accident and whether Air India had any initial findings, he said, 'One would have to wait for the probe to conclude.' The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is currently leading the investigation, with a high-level government-appointed committee also involved. Chandrasekaran indicated that preliminary findings could take up to a month. On the pilots' credentials, Chandrasekaran stated, 'Both pilots were exceptional. Captain Sabharwal had more than 11,500 hours of flying experience, the first officer Clive (Kundar) had more than 3,400 hours of flying experience. What I hear from colleagues is that they were excellent pilots and great professionals. So, we can't jump to any conclusions. I am told by all the experts that the black box and recorders will definitely tell the story. So, we just have to wait for that.' Addressing various theories around the crash, Tata Sons' chairman said, 'There are speculation about human error, speculation about airlines, speculation about engines, maintenance, all kinds.' He emphasised that the aircraft had no history of issues and provided engine details: the right engine was newly installed in March 2025, while the left engine had last been serviced in 2023 and was due for maintenance in December 2025. Responding to questions about previous show-cause notices and penalties imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Chandrasekaran clarified that these were unrelated to the crashed aircraft. 'These are different from safety issues. If there is a safety issue, there is no way the DGCA will allow us to fly,' he said. Responding to former civil aviation minister Praful Patel's comments questioning Singapore Airlines' silence, Chandrasekaran said, 'Singapore Airlines has been a great partner... their CEO is in constant touch with me... they have been offering all the help they can.' He also addressed concerns over Boeing's manufacturing practices following whistleblower allegations, saying, 'These are things that are being dealt with by investigative agencies in the US... we have not had any red flags in our checks.' Amid reports of a Turkish maintenance link, Chandrasekaran firmly denied it, stating, 'None of them (the 33 Dreamliners) are maintained by Turkish Technic. Most of them are maintained by AIESL (AI Engineering Services Limited) or SIA Engineering Company.' Following the crash, multiple Air India flights have faced delays or cancellations, sparking customer dissatisfaction. Chandrasekaran acknowledged the need for better communication, stating, 'We've got to do a better job at communication. We have put a strategic communications team in the last three days.' He confirmed meetings with senior executives at Boeing and GE, saying, 'I did connect with both Boeing and GE at the highest levels... I have asked them to check and tell us if there have been issues with any of the aircraft or engines.' The June 12 crash remains one of the deadliest in India's aviation history. (With PTI inputs)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Air India Black Box Headed to US
The Centre will send the black box of the crashed Air India Boeing 787 aircraft to the US for analysis. The recorder sustained heavy external damage from the conflagration after the crash, making it impossible for local investigators to extract data, people aware of the development told ET. They said entries from the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) would be extracted in the Washington-based laboratory of the National Safety Transport Board. The data would be shared with India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Under international rules, the state of occurrence is responsible for the crash investigation. 'While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in New Delhi, it is not yet properly equipped to extract data from recorders that have sustained heavy damage,' said an official aware of the process. 'The NTSB team will carry them to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure proper protocols are followed,' the official said. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch will also be present, as 53 British citizens were among those killed in the June 12 crash. The Air India aircraft crashed seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 on board the aircraft and 33 on the ground. The two units — FDR and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) — are together called the black box. Painted bright orange, they are designed to survive extreme conditions and are located near the tail, which faces least impact during a crash. Notably, heavy damage is not common when an aircraft catches fire due to a crash. Black box data is crucial in probing the crash. FDR would give insights into multiple technical parameters, such as timing, altitude and airspeed. CVR holds crucial audio recordings from the cockpit, including pilot conversations and ambient noises, such as any warning message from the electronic systems. The official cited earlier said the time taken to extract data from the recorder could range from two days to months, depending on the extent of the damage. 'Since the recorder has been damaged, the chip will need to be extracted by removing the memory board so there is no further damage to data. The electronic circuit will have to be assessed for damage,' he said. Investigators are examining multiple possibilities — whether the flaps on the ill-fated aircraft's wings were properly extended, and why its landing gear was down. They are looking at failure of the electronic systems, or fuel contamination, both of which could potentially have caused the engines to shut down. Air crashes are caused by multiple failures and early hypotheses are often ruled out in course of lengthy and technical investigations. The 787, like any modern aircraft, has been built with multiple redundancies, meaning there are duplications of critical components or systems to enhance reliability and make the aircraft failsafe. For instance, the plane has demonstrated capability to fly for 345 minutes with a single engine, as well as numerous system failures.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Unusual bird activity poses threat to flight movements at Pune airport
1 2 3 Pune: An unusual presence of birds sighted in the airspace and near the runway at Lohegaon airport on June 5 forced the air traffic control to divert a Pune-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi to Surat minutes before touchdown. On May 20, it was a nightmare for passengers on board a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo aircraft as they were made to sit for six hours while the ATC was waiting for the runway to be cleared of winged guests and also to allow some defence-related work to complete before signalling a take-off. Two incidents in two months paint a grim picture of the aircraft's growing vulnerability to unusual bird movements. Aviation experts have blamed the mushrooming eateries, commercial establishments, and high-rises surrounding the Pune airport compound, part of an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, and the unattended piles of garbage on their premises for the increasing bird activity. "Permission for constructions could be according to norms, but additional storeys are coming up and monitoring is minimal. Lohegaon is a frontline IAF base set up during the second world war and was once secluded. It is only during operations such as Sindoor that one realises the importance of these bases," Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retired) said, adding that the focus should be on developing the new airport in Purandar. Former airport director Deepak Shastri said no concrete steps are being taken to control encroachments and constructions around the airport. "There is an aerodrome environment management committee consisting of all stakeholders including the civic body. It has to meet periodically and find solutions to problems like garbage. The airport authorities need to tell us when the last meeting was held and what came out of that meeting?" These bird-related incidents might not be happening due to construction activities but because of improper garbage management by the establishments in and around the airport including in Vimannagar, said PMC commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. "The issue has come to my attention and I am going to hold a meeting soon to find out what more can be done to control the problem." Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's waste management department, however, claimed that garbage is lifted every day, and the focus is to ensure that it does not get accumulated. "An awareness campaign to sensitise people not to throw leftover foods in open areas near the airport will soon be undertaken," he said. Ornithologist Satish Pande, founder of Ela Foundation, told TOI that scavenging birds like crows, pigeons, kites and herons fly low and they run into a flight approaching an airport. "Many of the Indian airports, including in Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, are surrounded by human habitation. We all know that garbage collection is a problem, and they lure these birds. Nowadays, aircraft engines are designed to ingest a bird up to a certain size, but a flock can cause serious damage," he said. Captain Arpit Manshani, who flies airplanes and choppers, said bird hits can range from no impact to bringing down a huge jet in the Hudson (in 2009). "We need to understand if the bird hit was big or small; where it hit — windshield, engine intake, rotor blade of helicopter or wing of airplane. Was it a flock of birds or just a single? What phase of flight were you in? Did it happen during take-off, landing, or cruising? What is the extent of damage — can you see it physically, did you hear an unusual sound, or any of the flight parameters is off. The critical thing is decision making by the pilots — from being vigilant about birds to avoiding them at the last second to taking right action after analysing the strike," he said. The IAF campus is spread over 3,200 acres and the perimeter wall is shared by Lohegaon and Wagholi areas. Last week's flight diversion prompted the IAF, which manages the runway and the ATC tower, to set up a bird-scraping squad among a series of measures. However, ornithologist Pande said one needs to take wildlife hazard management seriously. "There are high rises near airports and pigeons naturally perceive them as their nesting sites. Unfortunately, authorities take a casual approach while hiring people to mitigate the bird menace." Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said, "The runway is managed by the IAF and they have been taking measures to keep it clear of bird movements. We are constantly coordinating with the PMC regarding different issues related to keeping the areas near the airport compound clean." A study published by Salim Ali Centre for Orthinology and Natural History on 'Best Practices for the Mitigation of the Hazards Posed by Birds to Aircraft' has recommended that buildings near airports be covered with bird proofing barriers. Sewerage treatment plants or open canals passing through the airfield should be completely covered, and water flows associated with irrigation and open stagnant water should be prevented. Feeding of birds by people within a two-km radius of the airport should be discouraged, the report said.
