Latest news with #Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
New York Times
3 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Air India Finds ‘No Issues' After Inspections of Boeing Fuel Switches
Air India said on Tuesday that it had concluded inspections of its fleet of Boeing planes and had not found any problems with the locking mechanisms of their fuel switches, a feature that has become a focus of scrutiny after a deadly crash. Last month, 260 people were killed, including 19 on the ground, after a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 jet went down seconds after takeoff in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. The investigation into the crash's cause may take months or years, but a preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found that the plane's fuel switches, which control the supply of fuel to the engine, had changed position seconds before the crash. Whether intentional or accidental, it appeared unlikely that the switches were moved without human involvement, safety experts said. Fuel switches have locking mechanisms that are designed to prevent accidental movement. Last week, regulators in India ordered that airlines inspect all the fuel switches on their Boeing planes. In a statement on Tuesday, Air India, the nation's flagship carrier, said that it had 'completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism' of the switches. 'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism,' it said. In the June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171, the fuel control switches for both engines moved from the 'RUN' position to 'CUTOFF' one after the other, about a second apart. The fuel supply stopped, and the aircraft began to lose altitude. According to the Indian investigation bureau's initial report, 'one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.' About 10 seconds after the fuel was cut off, the switches were moved to turn the fuel back on, but the plane did not regain power quickly enough to stop its descent, the report found. Mujib Mashal contributed reporting from New Delhi.
Khaleej Times
15-07-2025
- General
- Khaleej Times
Ahmedabad plane crash: India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets
India has ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models after they came under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people. A preliminary report, issued Saturday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, found that the switches had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. The report did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the order Monday to investigate the locking feature on the fuel control switches of several Boeing models including 787s and 737s. The order came after Boeing notified operators that the fuel switch locks on its jets were safe. But it was in line with a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which recommended inspection of the locks to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. Several Indian and international airlines have already begun their own inspections of fuel switches. "It has come to the notice of DGCA, that several operators -- internationally as well as domestic -- have initiated inspection on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB," DGCA said in a statement. In view of the SAIB, all airline operators of the affected aircraft must complete the inspection by July 21, it added. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. In a letter to employees on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the investigation into the crash was ongoing and it would be unwise to jump to "premature conclusions".
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets
India has ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models after they came under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people. A preliminary report, issued Saturday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, found that the switches had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. The report did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the order Monday to investigate the locking feature on the fuel control switches of several Boeing models, including 787s and 737s. The order came after Boeing notified operators that the fuel switch locks on its jets were safe. But it was in line with a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which recommended inspection of the locks to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. Several Indian and international airlines have already begun their own inspections of fuel switches. 'It has come to the notice of DGCA that several operators — internationally as well as domestic — have initiated inspection on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB,' DGCA said in a statement. In view of the SAIB, all airline operators of the affected aircraft must complete the inspection by July 21, it added. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. In a letter to employees on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the investigation into the crash was ongoing and it would be unwise to jump to 'premature conclusions.'
Fast Company
14-07-2025
- General
- Fast Company
What to know about aviation's ‘black box' after report on deadly Air India crash
A preliminary finding into last month's Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft's fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, also found that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight's final moment. The other pilot replied he did not do so. The Air India flight— a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner —crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India's worst aviation disasters. The report based its finding on the data recovered from the plane's black boxes —combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders. Here is an explanation of what black boxes are and what they can do: What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that lead up to a plane crash. They're orange in color to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at great ocean depths. They're usually installed a plane's tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's website. What does the cockpit voice recorder do? The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilot's voices and engine noises, according to the NTSB's website. Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops, the NTSB said. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems. Investigators can also listen to conversations between the pilots and crew and communications with air traffic control. Experts make a meticulous transcript of the voice recording, which can take up to a week. What does the flight data recorder do? The flight data recorder monitors a plane's altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor. Some can collect the status of more than 1,000 other characteristics, from a wing's flap position to the smoke alarms. The NTSB said it can generate a computer animated video reconstruction of the flight from the information collected. What are the origins of the black box? At least two people have been credited with creating devices that record what happens on an airplane. One is French aviation engineer François Hussenot. In the 1930s, he found a way to record a plane's speed, altitude and other parameters onto photographic film, according to the website for European plane-maker Airbus. In the 1950s, Australian scientist David Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder, according to his 2010 AP obituary. Warren had been investigating the crash of the world's first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953, and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement after his death. Warren designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. But it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide. Why the name 'black box'? Some have suggested that it stems from Hussenot's device because it used film and 'ran continuously in a light-tight box, hence the name 'black box,'' according to Airbus, which noted that orange was the box's chosen color from the beginning to make it easy to find. Other theories include the boxes turning black when they get charred in a crash, the Smithsonian Magazine wrote in 2019. The media continues to use the term, the magazine wrote, 'because of the sense of mystery it conveys in the aftermath of an air disaster.'
The Independent
12-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
What is a ‘black box' and what can it tell us about the Air India plane crash
A preliminary report into last month's Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft's fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The Air India flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India's worst aviation disasters. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, is based on the data recovered from the plane's black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders. Investigators revealed that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight's final moment. The other pilot replied he did not do so. Here is an explanation of what black boxes are and what they can do: What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that led up to a plane crash. They're orange in colour to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at great ocean depths. They're usually installed in a plane's tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board 's website. What does the cockpit voice recorder do? The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilot's voices and engine noises, according to the NTSB's website. Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops, the NTSB said. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems. Investigators can also listen to conversations between the pilots and crew and communications with air traffic control. Experts make a meticulous transcript of the voice recording, which can take up to a week. What does the flight data recorder do? The flight data recorder monitors a plane's altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor. Some can collect the status of more than 1,000 other characteristics, from a wing's flap position to the smoke alarms. The NTSB said it can generate a computer-animated video reconstruction of the flight from the information collected. What are the origins of the black box? At least two people have been credited with creating devices that record what happens on an aeroplane. One is French aviation engineer François Hussenot. In the 1930s, he found a way to record a plane's speed, altitude and other parameters onto photographic film, according to the website for European plane-maker Airbus. In the 1950s, Australian scientist David Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder, according to his 2010 AP obituary. Warren had been investigating the crash of the world's first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953, and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement after his death. Warren designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. But it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide. Why the name 'black box'? Some have suggested that it stems from Hussenot's device because it used film and 'ran continuously in a light-tight box, hence the name 'black box,'' according to Airbus, which noted that orange was the box's chosen colour from the beginning to make it easy to find. Other theories include the boxes turning black when they get charred in a crash, the Smithsonian Magazine wrote in 2019. The media continues to use the term, the magazine wrote, 'because of the sense of mystery it conveys in the aftermath of an air disaster.'
