Latest news with #MarcoChan
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Aviation expert decodes Ahmedabad crash probe report. Here's what he said
Marco Chan, senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and former pilot, has said that the preliminary report into the crash of the Air India Ahmedabad to London flight on June 12 points towards 'a chip malfunction'. Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane being lifted by a crane, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 14.(PTI) In an interview with Reuters Video, Chan said that he believes the crash was caused by a chip malfunction. He also referred to a previously issued service bulletin from the engine manufacturer advising maintenance of a flawed chip to prevent signal loss. 'I believe the FAA has - together with GE, General Electric, the engine manufacturer - has issued a service bulletin, i.e. I believe it was about 11,000 cycles, they will have to replace the chip. And if it is not replaced or maintenance isn't done correctly, it could lead to intermittent loss of signal. Once you have a loss of signal, the fuel isn't commanded i.e. in the cut off position, then there's no fuel going to the engine,' he said. Also Read | What AAIB preliminary report into the Ahmedabad Air India crash reveals and what it doesn't The senior lecturer added that the chances of the pilots accidentally moving the switches into the cutoff position are close to zero. 'You have to physically sort of - not pull the pin - but if you have to pull the toggle out, then it can move to a different position. So, you do have to do it on purpose, not accidental knocking it to the wrong position. Very rarely that can happen, or close to zero,' he told Reuters video. Also Read | Air India crash report: 49 hours of raw data retrieved from black box using US 'Golden Chassis' The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash, released early Saturday, identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster. Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI 171 en route to London Gatwick had crashed into a medical hostel complex soon after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 241 persons out of the 241 onboard. Another 19 people were killed on the ground. It is the worst civil aviation disaster in over a decade globally, and the worst in India in more than 30 years. What the report said The AAIB report, published a month after the disaster, provided the first official account of India's worst aviation accident in decades. The report said that the fuel control switches of the flight were found in the 'cutoff' position. 'At about 08:08:42 UTC (1:38pm, 42 seconds) and immediately thereafter, the engine 1 and engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec,' stated the report, before stating: 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so'.
Mint
3 days ago
- General
- Mint
Air India plane crash: Expert reveals what went wrong moment before tragic accident, says, ‘wasn't a pilot error'
A report issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau regarding the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171 pointed to a chip malfunction as a contributing factor, according to former pilot Marco Chan, who spoke to Reuters on Saturday. The crash involved a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 and occurred in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, resulting in the deaths of 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 individuals on the ground. Marco Chan, a senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University, noted that while the report did not entirely rule out human error by the pilots, the likelihood of them unintentionally activating the fuel cut-off switch was 'almost zero.' The preliminary report, released on July 12, depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. 'If you will to exonerate the pilots from Pilot Error. This is what the reports were stating. Now they didn't say that explicitly, but from reading the findings, it tells me that it wasn't a Pilot error. What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip,' the former pilot told Reuters in an interview, as reported by ANI. 'What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip. It's as simple as one chip not working properly, losing contact,' he added. A former pilot has shed light on the possible cause of the AI171 crash, stating that a technical issue may have been responsible for the incident. According to the former pilot, once contact is lost, the system can fail, much like a laptop experiencing a blue screen of death. He explained that the thermal cycle being in a warm condition could have caused the signal to not be contacted properly. 'Once you lose contact, it's kind of like how electricity works; the signal is not contacted properly. It's because the thermal cycle is in a warm condition,' Chan said. Also Read: data-vars-page-type="story" data-vars-link-type="Manual">'Not talking to anyone': Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, sole survivor of Air India plane crash, seeks psychiatric help The former pilot further elaborated that the system may have stopped functioning due to excessive workload, similar to a laptop shutting down. 'It's been working very hard, like your laptop stops working, basically giving you the blue screen of death and Windows,' the former pilot added, as reported by Reuters. During the interview with Reuters, the former pilot pointed out that the fuel control unit (FU) failed to receive a command to stay in a run position, resulting in a brief interruption in fuel supply. 'It doesn't command the FU to be in a run position even for a split second. The fuel stopped for a couple of seconds, and the engine will start decelerating,' the former pilot explained. Raising key questions about the Air India AI171 crash, highlighting two main areas of investigation. Chan said the investigation should focus on whether Air India carried out necessary maintenance and replacement of certain chips in accordance with the Service Bulletin. What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip. "I would say now this spotlight would be on, first of all, whether Air India has carried out the necessary maintenance and replacement of those chips according to the Service Bulletin," Marco Chan added. The former pilot further emphasised the need to investigate the nature of the bulletin issued by GE Aviation (previously known as General Electric) and its partner, Bowen. If you will to exonerate the pilots from Pilot Error. This is what the reports were stating.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Ex-pilot points to chip fault, not pilot error in report on AI171 crash
A report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau following the fatal crash of Air India flight AI171 indicated a chip malfunction as a cause of the crash, a former pilot told Reuters on Saturday. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Gujarat's Ahmedabad killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. Senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and former pilot Marco Chan said that although the report did not explicitly exonerate the two pilots from human error, the chances of accidentally switching the fuel cut-off toggle would be "close to zero". The preliminary report, released on July 12, depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. "If you will to exonerate the pilots from Pilot Error. This is what the reports were stating. Now they didn't say that explicitly, but from reading the findings, it tells me that it wasn't a Pilot error. What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip," the former pilot told Reuters in an interview. "What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip. It's as simple as one chip not working properly, losing contact," he added. A former pilot has shed light on the possible cause of the AI171 crash, stating that a technical issue may have been responsible for the incident. According to the former pilot, once contact is lost, the system can fail, much like a laptop experiencing a blue screen of death. He explained that the thermal cycle being in a warm condition could have caused the signal to not be contacted properly. "Once you lose contact, it's kind of like how electricity works; the signal is not contacted properly. It's because the thermal cycle is in a warm condition," Chan said. The former pilot further elaborated that the system may have stopped functioning due to excessive workload, similar to a laptop shutting down. "It's been working very hard, like your laptop stops working, basically giving you the blue screen of death and Windows," the former pilot added. During the interview with Reuters, the former pilot pointed out that the fuel control unit (FU) failed to receive a command to stay in a run position, resulting in a brief interruption in fuel supply. "It doesn't command the FU to be in a run position even for a split second. The fuel stopped for a couple of seconds, and the engine will start decelerating," the former pilot explained. Raising key questions about the Air India AI171 crash, highlighting two main areas of investigation. Chan said the investigation should focus on whether Air India carried out necessary maintenance and replacement of certain chips in accordance with the Service Bulletin. "I would say now this spotlight would be on, first of all, whether Air India has carried out the necessary maintenance and replacement of those chips according to the Service Bulletin," Marco Chan added. The former pilot further emphasised the need to investigate the nature of the bulletin issued by GE Aviation (previously known as General Electric) and its partner, Bowen. "The second question will likely be for Bowen and General Electric together, why it was issued as a surface bulletin rather than an airworthiness kind of mandate, where a directive or call that you must carry out those actions," he added.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- India Gazette
Former pilot points to chip malfunction, not pilot error in initial report on AI171 tragic crash
London [UK], July 13 (ANI): A report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau following the fatal crash of Air India flight AI171 indicated a chip malfunction as a cause of the crash, a former pilot told Reuters on Saturday. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Gujarat's Ahmedabad killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. Senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and former pilot Marco Chan said that although the report did not explicitly exonerate the two pilots from human error, the chances of accidentally switching the fuel cut-off toggle would be 'close to zero'. The preliminary report, released on July 12, depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. 'If you will to exonerate the pilots from Pilot Error. This is what the reports were stating. Now they didn't say that explicitly, but from reading the findings, it tells me that it wasn't a Pilot error. What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip,' the former pilot told Reuters in an interview. 'What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip. It's as simple as one chip not working properly, losing contact,' he added. A former pilot has shed light on the possible cause of the AI171 crash, stating that a technical issue may have been responsible for the incident. According to the former pilot, once contact is lost, the system can fail, much like a laptop experiencing a blue screen of death. He explained that the thermal cycle being in a warm condition could have caused the signal to not be contacted properly. 'Once you lose contact, it's kind of like how electricity works; the signal is not contacted properly. It's because the thermal cycle is in a warm condition,' Chan said. The former pilot further elaborated that the system may have stopped functioning due to excessive workload, similar to a laptop shutting down. 'It's been working very hard, like your laptop stops working, basically giving you the blue screen of death and Windows,' the former pilot added. During the interview with Reuters, the former pilot pointed out that the fuel control unit (FU) failed to receive a command to stay in a run position, resulting in a brief interruption in fuel supply. 'It doesn't command the FU to be in a run position even for a split second. The fuel stopped for a couple of seconds, and the engine will start decelerating,' the former pilot explained. Raising key questions about the Air India AI171 crash, highlighting two main areas of investigation. Chan said the investigation should focus on whether Air India carried out necessary maintenance and replacement of certain chips in accordance with the Service Bulletin. 'I would say now this spotlight would be on, first of all, whether Air India has carried out the necessary maintenance and replacement of those chips according to the Service Bulletin,' Marco Chan added. The former pilot further emphasised the need to investigate the nature of the bulletin issued by GE Aviation (previously known as General Electric) and its partner, Bowen. 'The second question will likely be for Bowen and General Electric together, why it was issued as a surface bulletin rather than an airworthiness kind of mandate, where a directive or call that you must carry out those actions,' he added. (ANI)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Air India crash report points to chip malfunction, says analyst
STORY: :: This video contains content some people may find distressing :: June 13, 2025 A preliminary report into last month's fatal Air India crash depicted confusion in the cockpit after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. :: June 12, 2025 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff. :: Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau The report from Indian accident investigators did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight. CHAN: "From reading the findings..." Former pilot and senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University Marco Chan says he believes it was a chip malfunction rather than human error that led to the crash. He points to a previously issued service bulletin from the engine manufacturer advising maintenance of a flawed chip to prevent signal loss. :: Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau 'I believe the FAA has - together with GE, General Electric, the engine manufacturer - has issued a service bulletin, i.e. I believe it was about 11,000 cycles, they will have to replace the chip. And if it is not replaced or maintenance isn't done correctly, it could lead to intermittent loss of signal. Once you have a loss of signal, the fuel isn't commanded i.e. in the cut off position, then there's no fuel going to the engine.' Chan says it would be a challenge for pilots to accidentally move the switches into the cutoff position. 'You have to physically sort of - not pull the pin - but if you have to pull the toggle out, then it can move to a different position. So, you do have to do it on purpose, not accidental knocking it to the wrong position. Very rarely that can happen, or close to zero.' :: June 12, 2025 At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash, the report showed. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was bound for London from India's Ahmedabad. The crash killed 260 people, making it the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
