YouTuber retracts comments citing ‘pilot error' for Air India crash after widespread criticism: ‘They did a valiant job of trying to save that plane'
Days after Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which killed claimed 270 lives, experts around the world have been speculating what led to the crash. YouTuber Captain Steeeve, who has been sharing videos on the supposed reasons behind the crash, shared another video on Wednesday where he clarified his previous stance implying that pilot error could have caused the crash. Here, he insisted that he holds pilots from other countries in high regard and never meant to blame them in the first place. However, he discussed other reasons that could have led to the dual engine failure.
In his previous video, Steeeve had suggested that the tragic incident might have been caused by a possible error during takeoff. He mentioned that the co-pilot may have accidentally raised the flaps instead of the landing gear. Following this claim, many, including YouTuber Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast, who served as a commercial pilot for over a decade, defended the pilots.
ALSO READ | 'His legacy will forever be etched': Air India pays final tribute to Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who died in Ahmedabad plane crash
At the beginning of his latest video itself, Captain Steeeve said, 'I'm glad to say at this point that that has been put to bed. That did not happen. (After I made the statement) A lot of people said, 'You are casting dispersions on those pilots, their training and their background.' Not at all. I have the greatest and utmost respect for all my foreign pilot friends. These guys are absolutely geniuses. They are terrific at what they do.' He added, 'Those guys earned what they were, and they did a valiant job of trying to save that aeroplane. They were really the heroes, and I wish it had turned out better.'
As per the YouTuber, according to last available visuals of the flight, the ram air turbine (RAT), a device designed to deploy automatically if both engines fail or if the aircraft loses all hydraulic or electrical systems, was deployed in the moments leading up to the crash. He also weighed in on the topic of what might have caused the engines to fail.
Pointing out that once they start functioning, the two turbine engines basically need ample air and fuel. He noted that RAT deployment could result from electrical or hydraulic failure. He speculated that due to the high temperatures in Ahmedabad that day, airflow might have been disrupted, potentially causing a 'compressor stall'. He also suggested that fuel starvation, possibly due to contamination or vapour lock, could have played a role.
Previously, defending the pilots, YouTuber Flying Beast aka Gaurav Taneja had stated, 'It's very easy to blame the pilots when they are not there to defend themselves. Boeing and Air India both are big companies so leave them and let's blame the pilot. Also, it gets easy to claim insurance if you blame it on the pilot. That is one more reason for big companies to not take it on themselves. Americans think Indian pilots aren't very competent but that's not the case.'
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