Ahmedabad plane crash: Cockpit Voice Recorder found
Earlier, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had confirmed that only the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the ill-fated plane was found.
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NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
What Pilots Said, What Alarms Rang: Questions For Crashed Air India Plane's 'Black Box'
New Delhi: The ' black box ' of the London Gatwick-bound Air India AI-171 plane that crashed in Ahmedabad last week - losing thrust 36 seconds after take-off and slamming into residential buildings bordering the airport, killing all 274 people, including 33 on the ground - have been recovered. The term 'black box' refers to a set of two devices that records conversations between the pilots and with Air Traffic Control, as well as flight data parameters like altitude, heading, and airspeed. All of this information is required by investigators to establish how and why a plane crashed is stored in the Cockpit Voice Recorder, or CVR, and Flight Data Recorder, or FDR. And now that authorities investigating the Air India crash have both devices, we can unravel the final minutes, nay seconds, of AI-171 and understand why the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed. There are some of the key questions CVR data should be able to answer. 1. What, exactly, did Captain Sumeet Sabharwal say in his distress call? Last week the Civil Aviation Ministry said a distress call had been broadcast seconds before impact. 'Mayday, mayday...' was what Captain Sabharwal reportedly told Ahmedabad ATC. There are, however, reports that Captain Sabharwal also flagged the loss of power and thrust. CVR data should reveal if he did, indeed, also say '... no power... no thrust...', which will be a key piece of evidence pushing investigators to focus on the engine as the cause for the crash. At this time multiple theories - some ludicrous and many without adequate proof to support the claim - about what caused the plane crash are doing the rounds, including a system-wide electrical failure, possible maintenance issues, and a simultaneous bird strike in both engines. There are questions also being asked about the landing gear and the plane's flaps. 2. What time was the distress message sent? The plane took off at 1.39 pm, the government has confirmed. Thirty-six seconds later it crashed. What happened in that painfully brief period? CVR data will pinpoint the exact millisecond Captain Sabharwal sent his 'mayday' message, which will establish just how much time First Officer Clive Kunder and he had to try and rescue the plane and the 240 other people on board, including 10 crew members. Knowing when the 'mayday' call was sent will also allow investigators to work out when the problem (that caused the crash) manifested, i.e., was it present before take-off and did the pilots not notice it or did it happen after lift-off, perhaps prompted by a system failure? 3. What did the pilots and ATC talk about? Again, the CVR will also tell investigators exactly what Captain Sabharwal and First Officer Kunder said to each other and the ATC. Of course, the ATC personnel will have already been debriefed, but they may not remember everything that was said or even the tone in which it was said, which can provide clues. And they will not know what the pilot and first officer said to each other in the plane. The CVR records all of this, as well as ambient noise from the cockpit, including that of the engine. 'Black boxes' are storied in the tail section of a plane. Crucially, ambient noise will include alarms that may have blared in the cockpit in the seconds before the crash, vibration feedback from the controllers, etc. It will also let them know how the pilots responded to these alerts. Meanwhile, parallel to the CVR data, investigators will also have access to key flight parameters that will allow them to re-create, in real-time the flight path of the doomed Air India plane. Together, these should be able to tell us how and why this disaster happened, and how, perhaps, to ensure that such aviation tragedies are not repeated.
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Cockpit voice recorder recovered from Air India crash official
The discovery could help investigators identify the likely cause of the accident that claimed 290 lives Officials investigating the crash of Air India flight AI171, recovered the plane's second cockpit voice recorder on Sunday, the PTI news agency reported, citing officials. The UK-bound Boeing 787 carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college hostel just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 290 people. The discovery of the second box comes two days after India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) confirmed the identification of the first recorder on Friday, which is being examined by officials from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Efforts are ongoing to identify the deceased. The number of confirmed DNA matches in the plane crash has risen to 80, with 33 bodies having been identified and handed over to their respective families, the Additional Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, said on Sunday. In a statement, the AAIB and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that a high-level review meeting had been held, at which relief, rescue, andinvestigation effortswere discussed. Experts have raised concerns of possible technical faults, crew miscalculations, and configuration errors as possible causes that forced the Boeing 787-8 plane into a populated area. Investigation officials told the Associated Press that early indications suggest the aircraft may not have been correctly configured for takeoff. width="560" height="315" src=" frameborder="0" > DGCA has asked Air India to carry out maintenance on its Boeing 787-8/9 Dreamliner aircraft immediately, including a review of all take-off parameters and aircraft checks over the last two weeks. A team from Boeing has joined the probe into the crash on-site. Parts of the aircraft's two General Electric GEnx engines are being sent to the US for detailed analysis, a Hindustan Times report said. India's civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu confirmed in a press briefing on Saturday that "Of the 34 Dreamliners in India, eight have already undergone inspection." (
NDTV
5 hours ago
- NDTV
Cockpit Voice Recorder Found, Clarity On Air India Flight SOS Message Soon
Ahmedabad: Officials investigating the Air India plane crash here have confirmed the Cockpit Voice Recorder has been found, a crucial discovery to help ascertain the possible cause of the accident that killed 270 persons, including 241 on board. Earlier, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had confirmed that only the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the ill-fated plane was found. The officials confirmed the recovery of black boxes to PK Mishra, the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday inspected the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 and also visited the civil hospital where the injured persons are undergoing treatment. Mr Mishra chaired a high-level review meeting at the Circuit House here and discussed the ongoing relief, rescue and investigation efforts with senior officials from the central and state governments, AAIB and the Airports Authority of India, an official release on Sunday said. The AAIB has launched a detailed investigation, and the US National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a parallel probe under international protocols, as the aircraft was American-made, the release stated. "Officials confirmed to Dr Mishra that the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) have been located and secured," it said. With the finding of both black boxes of the plane, it would be easy for investigators to ascertain the cause of the crash. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8(AI 171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed when the London-bound aircraft crashed into the nearby campus of a medical college in Meghaninagar area and burst into flames, moments after it took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Mr Mishra reviewed the accident site near the BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar, where senior officials from the state government, AAIB and Airports Authority of India briefed him on the sequence of events and immediate response measures, the release said. During his visit to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, he met the bereaved families, observed the DNA sample matching, and directed authorities to provide full assistance, ensuring a seamless and compassionate process, it said. He also interacted with the injured persons, instructing hospital officials to prioritise their medical treatment and recovery, it said. "I am very pained by the enormity of the tragedy. Everybody is sad. It is our duty to share grief and express our feelings for the victims," Mr Mishra told reporters. At the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar, he reviewed DNA sampling efforts and stressed the need to complete the identification process swiftly while maintaining scientific accuracy, the release said. Mr Mishra reiterated the PM's commitment to providing all possible support to victims' families and ensuring a coordinated response across all agencies involved, it said. The principal secretary was accompanied by PMO officials, advisor to the PM, Tarun Kapoor, and Deputy Secretary, PMO Mangesh Ghildiyal, the release said.
