Skies clearer, clouds on ground
Determining how accidental deaths are increasing exponentially requires nuanced analysis by experts. For aviation, the trend is clearly downward. The 2011- 2020 decade saw only two fatal commercial airliner crashes in India—one in Mangaluru in 2010 and the other in Kozhikode in 2020, compared to seven in the 1991-2000 period. The Ahmedabad crash, while devastating, is an outlier in an otherwise safer aviation sector.
Road accidents, however, show a more complex picture. While the annual death toll remains staggeringly high, the rate of fatalities per 1,00,000 people—16.6 in 2013, as per WHO—has not risen proportionately with the increase in vehicles or population. Initiatives like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's online accident reporting portal and road safety audits suggest progress, but the absolute number of deaths remains a public health crisis.
Other accidental death categories, such as drownings or industrial incidents, lack sufficient recent data to confirm trends, but historical patterns suggest they remain persistent challenges. Then there are religious gatherings and pilgrimages where scores die in stampedes. That the gods or godmen, the believers crowd around to have a glance at, have no power to save them from death does not prevent the frequent recurrence of the tragedy.
The Maha Kumbh Mela stampede in Prayagraj in January, resulted in at least 30 deaths. But that is the official figure. Reuters reported a higher toll, with a witness counting 39 bodies in the morgue at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College. A BBC report later claimed at least 82 deaths. That these figures vary points to fundamental flaws in the way we assess even the factuality of such incidents.
All said, aviation remains the safest mode of travel. Still, the crash exposes vulnerabilities. The official investigation is progressing. But as a lay observer, I do wonder how a six-story college hostel was allowed to come up so close along the airport's take-off path.
Critics have argued that India's aviation regulator and airport authorities have been lax, with urban encroachment around airports posing risks. The fact is that India's chaotic urban development— whether it is Mumbai, Bengaluru or Ahmedabad—is innocent of any great rigour in planning.
In contrast, road and rail accidents, which claim far more lives annually, suffer from systemic issues: inadequate infrastructure, weak enforcement and a cultural disregard for safety norms. The public and media's focus on the rarer air crashes often overshadows these chronic problems.
C P Surendran is a poet, novelist, and screenplay writer whose latest novel is One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B
(Views are personal)
(cpsurendran@gmail.com)
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New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Skies clearer, clouds on ground
Determining how accidental deaths are increasing exponentially requires nuanced analysis by experts. For aviation, the trend is clearly downward. The 2011- 2020 decade saw only two fatal commercial airliner crashes in India—one in Mangaluru in 2010 and the other in Kozhikode in 2020, compared to seven in the 1991-2000 period. The Ahmedabad crash, while devastating, is an outlier in an otherwise safer aviation sector. Road accidents, however, show a more complex picture. While the annual death toll remains staggeringly high, the rate of fatalities per 1,00,000 people—16.6 in 2013, as per WHO—has not risen proportionately with the increase in vehicles or population. Initiatives like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's online accident reporting portal and road safety audits suggest progress, but the absolute number of deaths remains a public health crisis. Other accidental death categories, such as drownings or industrial incidents, lack sufficient recent data to confirm trends, but historical patterns suggest they remain persistent challenges. Then there are religious gatherings and pilgrimages where scores die in stampedes. That the gods or godmen, the believers crowd around to have a glance at, have no power to save them from death does not prevent the frequent recurrence of the tragedy. The Maha Kumbh Mela stampede in Prayagraj in January, resulted in at least 30 deaths. But that is the official figure. Reuters reported a higher toll, with a witness counting 39 bodies in the morgue at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College. A BBC report later claimed at least 82 deaths. That these figures vary points to fundamental flaws in the way we assess even the factuality of such incidents. All said, aviation remains the safest mode of travel. Still, the crash exposes vulnerabilities. The official investigation is progressing. But as a lay observer, I do wonder how a six-story college hostel was allowed to come up so close along the airport's take-off path. Critics have argued that India's aviation regulator and airport authorities have been lax, with urban encroachment around airports posing risks. The fact is that India's chaotic urban development— whether it is Mumbai, Bengaluru or Ahmedabad—is innocent of any great rigour in planning. In contrast, road and rail accidents, which claim far more lives annually, suffer from systemic issues: inadequate infrastructure, weak enforcement and a cultural disregard for safety norms. The public and media's focus on the rarer air crashes often overshadows these chronic problems. C P Surendran is a poet, novelist, and screenplay writer whose latest novel is One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B (Views are personal) (cpsurendran@
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First Post
2 days ago
- First Post
Ahmedabad plane crash: Did Air India flight deploy RAT seconds after takeoff? What does it mean?
The London-bound Air India flight that crashed on June 12 deployed the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) shortly after its takeoff from Ahmedabad, aviation experts claim. This theory has emerged after a clearer video of the crash surfaced. But what is the emergency back-up turbine? read more Members of Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from an airport in Ahmedabad, June 14, 2025. Reuters The Air India AI-171 flight crash has sparked questions about the cause of the disaster that killed more than 200. On June 12, the London-bound Air India plane crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad, moments after take-off. At least 270 people died, of whom 241 were passengers and crew of the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Several theories have emerged about the factor(s) behind the crash. Now, some are claiming that the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was activated shortly after the Air India flight took off from Ahmedabad. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is it? And what does its activation mean? We will explain. What is RAT? Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is an emergency power source for an aircraft when the main engines fail to generate power for essential systems. The small propeller-like device uses wind speed to generate emergency power. It is deployed automatically when the flight experiences dual engine failure, the loss of total electrical power or hydraulic failure. The emergency back-up turbine can also be activated manually through a switch or lever in the cockpit. After a power loss is detected, the RAT, located behind the landing gear console that deploys into the airstream, gets activated automatically. It generates power based on the speed of the aircraft. Once deployed, the RAT powers key systems, such as flight controls or flight-critical instrumentation, navigation and communication equipment, according to SKYbrary. ALSO READ: How is the Air India investigation unfolding? Why are UK, US involved? Was RAT deployed in doomed Air India plane? The Air India plane was airborne for 30 seconds before it came crashing down on a doctors' accommodation building at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital last week. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot of the Air India flight, issued a mayday call to air traffic controllers in Ahmedabad almost immediately after takeoff. A clearer video of the last moments of the plane purportedly indicates that the RAT was activated. The footage captured by Class 12 student Aryan Asari appears to show that the emergency back-up turbine was down. Aviation experts cite the testimony of the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash to support this claim. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, had told the media that it felt the aircraft got stuck midair within moments of takeoff. He said he heard a 'loud bang' and the light went out. Then a green light flashed and the plane accelerated but could not gain altitude. A video of the Air India flight crash shows the AI-171 plane flying low over residential areas before rapidly descending and disappearing behind trees and buildings, before a huge explosion erupts in the sky. Captain Steve Scheibner, who is reportedly a former US Navy pilot, has claimed that the RAT was deployed on the doomed Air India flight. In a video on YouTube, he said, 'In the middle of the circle, you see kind of a protrusion on the belly of the aircraft… just underneath that you see a little grey dot… that little grey dot is the RAT.' Analysing the video of the Air India flight crash, Scheibner pointed to the 'high-pitched squeal' to support his claim of the RAT deployment. He said the lone survivor's statement signals what occurs during the RAT deployment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The aviation expert's new video comes after Scheibner previously claimed that pilots' failure to set the wing flaps properly could be a possible reason for the crash. A regulatory source told Indian Express that the loud bang that the sole survivor heard could mean a lower hatch gave way and the RAT was deployed automatically. However, the person said there could be other reasons for the loud sound. What does it mean? If the RAT was deployed, it is likely that the Air India flight faced a dual engine failure, aviation expert Captain Sahil Bhalla told Financial Express. Bhalla said that the RAT is deployed within seconds of engine failure, which means the aircraft has lost power from both engines. 'The activation of the RAT is almost instantaneous. It tells us that the aircraft was relying on emergency backup systems due to a significant loss of power," he said. A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from an airport in Ahmedabad, India June 12, 2025. Reuters The RAT is the last resort to power the aircraft when everything stops working. However, it is more useful when the plane is at higher or cruising altitudes, providing ample time for pilots to land at the closest airfield. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This was not the case with the Air India flight, which was at an altitude of just 625 feet before crashing. With inputs from agencies
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Naga delegation urges UK museum to return ancestral remains from colonial era
Tribes from Nagaland engaged in discussions at Oxford University's Pitt Rivers Museum to reclaim ancestral remains taken during British colonial rule. The demand for their return comes amid increasing global calls for the restitution of stolen Indigenous remains and looted cultural artefacts to their rightful and other body parts were frequently transported from Asia, Africa, and other regions to Britain and other former colonial powers as "trophies" for trade, display, or state that some of the remains were taken by colonial officers from burial grounds and battlefields in the northeastern state, a region where headhunting was practised for centuries. Others were looted during violent incidents. Dolly Kikon, an anthropologist from Nagaland's Lotha-Naga tribe, said that the Naga delegation visited Oxford to reclaim ancestral heritage."For the first time, there is a Naga delegation to connect and to reclaim our history, our culture and our belongings," Kikon, who teaches at the University of California and travelled to Oxford last week, told to a statement issued by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the delegation was invited by the Pitt Rivers Museum (PRM) between June 8 and 10 to discuss the future of the Naga ancestral remains that the PRM holds within their OF RETURN STILL UNCERTAIN: MUSEUMadvertisementHowever, museum director Laura Van Broekhoven said the timing of the return of the remains was still uncertain due to the bureaucracy involved. The museum is also in talks with other groups to facilitate more items being returned, Reuters PRM, which displays collections from Oxford University, holds the world's largest Naga collection, including thousands of artefacts, 41 human remains, primarily skulls, and 178 objects that contain or may contain human hair, according to a report by news agency last month, the skulls of 19 African Americans were returned to New Orleans from Germany, where they had been sent for study by phrenologists, proponents of a now discredited belief that skull shape reveals mental abilities, according to a Reuters EFFORTS ONGOING FOR FIVE YEARSSpeaking upon arrival in Oxford, Reverend Ellen Konyak Jamir, Coordinator of Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRD), and also part of the delegation, described the talks as a significant milestone in the collective Naga effort to recover their ancestral remains and confront colonial legacies through dialogue and cooperation with international institutions, according to a report in Nagaland-based English newspaper The Morung Express."We had a very, very meaningful time. It was a momentous occasion for the Nagas as a whole, and we want to thank the Naga people for the support rendered to us, and we are very proud of our tribal leaders here representing the different hohos," The Morung Express quoted Jamir as RRD team reported that the repatriation initiative has been underway for five years, involving wide-reaching engagement with Naga communities across districts, churches, schools, and civil society 23 Naga representatives, including tribal elders and community representatives, joined British lawmakers and campaigners in urging the government to create laws to protect ancestral museum removed all remains from public display in 2020, including ancestors of European countries, like the Netherlands, have national policies for the repatriation of human of reparations argue that contemporary states and institutions should not be held responsible for their past. Advocates say action is needed to address the legacies, such as systemic and structural racism, according to the Reuters report."One way to confront the colonial legacy is for Indigenous people to be able to tell our own stories," Kikon was quoted as saying by Reuters.
