Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Safe, Smart, but Not Infallible
The
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
, in service since 2011, is renowned for its cutting-edge safety systems and fuel efficiency. Despite its reputation, the
aircraft
has faced notable setbacks, including a
global grounding
in 2013 due to
battery-related incidents
.
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Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Too many managers, not enough engineers': Elon Musk's Boeing dig resurfaces after Air India crash
An Air India Dreamliner carrying 242 people crashed just seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on 12 June, leaving 241 dead, including all but one on board. The aircraft, Flight AI-171 bound for London, struck a nearby medical college complex shortly after becoming airborne. Several people on the ground also lost their lives. Officials confirmed that the only surviving passenger was seated in 11A. The crash happened within 11 seconds of takeoff. Witnesses reported a loud explosion followed by a fireball. Emergency responders arrived swiftly, but the devastation was total. 'Too many non‑technical managers at Boeing': Elon Musk's tweet resurfaces In the middle of the ongoing crisis, a tweet from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has resurfaced and gone viral. Musk had written in May 2024: 'Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished 4 years sooner. Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1. Too many non‑technical managers at Boeing.' Live Events Musk's comparison of Boeing's Starliner delays to SpaceX's Dragon 2 programme was widely circulated at the time. The post has now gained renewed attention following the Air India tragedy, with critics questioning Boeing's safety culture and leadership structure. A 2023 NASA audit had also flagged cost overruns and inefficiencies in Boeing's commercial crew programme. Musk's remarks seem to align with those concerns. One black box found, investigation gains pace The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has recovered one of the aircraft's two black boxes — the flight data recorder — from the rooftop of the medical hostel struck during the crash. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu called the recovery 'an important step forward in the investigation' and added it would 'significantly aid the enquiry into the incident.' The black box was found within 28 hours of the crash. Search crews are still trying to locate the second black box, believed to be lodged in the cockpit area. DGCA orders emergency inspections of Air India's Boeing fleet Following the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has instructed Air India to conduct comprehensive safety and maintenance inspections of all Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft powered by Genx engines. These checks, effective from 15 June, include: Inspection of fuel monitoring systems Review of cabin air compressors Electronic engine control tests Operational tests on fuel-driven actuators Hydraulic system serviceability assessments Analysis of take-off parameter records Additionally, transit inspections must now include flight control checks, and all power assurance checks are to be completed within two weeks. Air India must also close out any recurring snags recorded in the last 15 days. All reports from these inspections are to be submitted to the DGCA for further action. Centre forms high-level committee to investigate crash The Indian government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by the Union Home Secretary. The panel includes the Secretary of Civil Aviation, a representative from Gujarat, and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The committee will work alongside AAIB to determine the cause of the crash. The pilot's last communication to air traffic control has not been made public, but officials confirmed a Mayday call was issued just before the plane went down. Images of grief have filled television screens and social media feeds. Among them was a viral video of the pilot's elderly parents bidding farewell to their son — a scene that drew national attention. While families mourn their loved ones, the country waits for answers. The black box data, once fully analysed, is expected to provide crucial details on what caused a modern Dreamliner to fall out of the sky in just seconds. As the probe deepens and fingers begin to point, Boeing's global safety record and internal leadership practices are likely to come under even sharper focus.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Airspace restrictions...': Air India cancels Ahmedabad-London flight; airline issues statement
Following a recent fatal Dreamliner crash, Air India's Ahmedabad to London flight AI159 was cancelled due to a technical issue detected before departure. This cancellation occurred as the airline grapples with multiple technical problems across its fleet, including incidents involving flights from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hong Kong to Delhi, raising concerns about operational disruptions. "Flight AI159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed. We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers. Consequently, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar on 17th June stands cancelled," Air India said. Show more Show less
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
The big bad Trump bomb that Israel wants so much
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The intensifying shadow war between Israel and Iran has long centered on Tehran's nuclear ambitions. While Israel has conducted cyber operations, sabotage missions, and now limited airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, particularly at facilities like Natanz, its ability to cripple the heart of Iran's most secure and sensitive installations remains constrained. Chief among these is the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant , a fortified facility carved into a mountain near the city of Qom. To neutralize such a hardened target, Israel would require capabilities currently outside its arsenal, namely, America's GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).Israel wants Trump to lob his big bad bomb The GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator represents the cutting-edge American bunker-busting technology. Designed by Boeing and fielded by the US Air Force , the weapon is a 30,000-pound (13,600 kg) precision-guided bomb specifically engineered to penetrate deep into the earth and destroy fortified underground facilities Weighing 30,000 pounds, with a length of approximately 20.5 feet (6.2 meters), the MOP is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. It can reportedly penetrate up to 200 feet of reinforced concrete or 130 feet of moderately hard rock before detonation. The weapon uses an inertial navigation system combined with GPS guidance to achieve high levels of accuracy against static targets. Only large strategic bombers, such as the American B-2 Spirit, are capable of deploying the MOP due to its immense weight and specialized integration requirements. The GBU-57 is specifically intended for missions that involve highly fortified, deeply buried targets of which Fordo is the most prominent example Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant exemplifies Iran's strategic foresight in protecting its nuclear programme from aerial attack. Constructed in secrecy and revealed only in 2009, the facility is embedded deep within the Zagros Mountains, beneath an estimated 260 to 300 feet of rock. Built beneath 80–100 meters of rock, the facility is immune to conventional airstrikes or standard bunker-busting munitions like the US GBU-28 or Israeli-developed munitions. Its location and construction complicate targeting. Even if the above-ground entrance is destroyed, internal damage might be is one of the few known facilities where Iran has enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade levels (up to 60%), placing it at the center of Western non-proliferation concerns. For Israel, Fordo is an insurmountable challenge using its current conventional strike capabilities. Its air force, despite its advanced F-35I Adir stealth fighters and precision munitions, lacks the payload capacity and specialized munitions to reach Fordo's deepest military doctrine emphasizes preemption when existential threats are perceived. While it has previously succeeded in striking Iraq's Osirak reactor in 1981 and Syria's Al-Kibar reactor in 2007, both were above-ground and within a tactical range. Fordo, however, changes the calculus. Israeli aircraft can reach Iranian targets with aerial refueling, but cannot carry a weapon as massive as the GBU-57. Moreover, penetrating and destroying a hardened target like Fordo would likely require multiple MOP-class strikes, potentially over multiple waves which is something only a strategic bomber force could sustain. The Israeli Air Force possesses advanced US-made bunker busters such as the GBU-28, but these are inadequate for Fordo's depth.A unilateral Israeli attack involving a large sortie over hostile airspace (for instance, Jordan or Iraq) would entail significant diplomatic and military risk, especially without US coordination or support. As such, even if Israel were to attack Fordo, it would almost certainly fail to destroy the facility entirely without the strategic delivery capabilities that only the US possesses. The fact that only the US can currently field the GBU-57 A/B gives Washington considerable leverage in managing the Israeli-Iranian confrontation. While Israel has long lobbied for access to the MOP, the US has declined to transfer it, likely for a combination of technical, strategic and political reasons. The MOP and its delivery systems are highly classified and involve technology that the US has not shared even with close exclusive control over the means to destroy Iran's most protected sites allows the US to modulate escalation and maintain strategic ambiguity. The mere existence of the MOP serves as a bargaining chip in diplomatic efforts with Iran, especially under scenarios where military action is threatened but not initiated. The Israeli desire to neutralize Fordo stems from deep-seated concerns about Iran's nuclear latency. However, unless the US chooses to either directly strike Fordo, Israel is left with limited options such as covert action, sabotage or cyber Fordo facility, in effect, symbolizes the shift in strategic deterrence in the Middle East. Iran has created a threshold defense against unilateral conventional strikes, buying time and leverage. The GBU-57 A/B, by contrast, is the technological antidote but one controlled solely by the US, thus establishing the asymmetry between regional actors and impenetrability reflects Iran's deep awareness of its adversaries' capabilities, and the GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator embodies a rare, game-changing instrument of strategic warfare. For Israel, the path to disabling Iran's nuclear core runs through Washington, not merely for political support, but for access to a single weapon system that can breach the mountain. Until that equation changes, Israel can't achieve complete destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities.
