Latest news with #SafetyMattersFoundation
Sky News
12-07-2025
- General
- Sky News
Backlash as Air India crash report points to possible human error - here's what experts think
As investigators continue to piece together the full picture, early findings of the Air India crash are pointing towards a critical area of concern — the aircraft's fuel control switches. The flight, bound for London Gatwick, crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board the plane and at least 19 on the ground. According to the preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the two engine fuel control switches on the plane were moved from the "RUN" to "CUTOFF" position. These switches control fuel flow to the engines and should only be used when the aircraft is on ground, first to start the engines before a flight and later to shut them down at the gate. They are designed so they're unlikely to be changed accidentally, pointing to possible human error on the Air India flight. The findings include the final conversation between the pilots and show there was confusion in the cockpit as well. When one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel, he responded to say he did not do so. Moments later, a Mayday call was made from the cockpit, but the plane could not regain power quickly enough and plummeted to the ground. Captain Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, an organisation dedicated to aviation safety, told Sky News: "This exchange indicates that the engine shutdowns were uncommanded. "However, the report does not identify the cause - whether it was crew error, mechanical malfunction, or electronic failure." Previous warning of 'possible fuel switch issue' "The Boeing 787 uses spring-loaded locking mechanisms on its fuel control switches to prevent accidental movement," Mr Singh explained. But a previous bulletin from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) "warned that these switches might be installed with the locking feature disengaged," he said. This could "make them susceptible to unintended movement due to vibration, contact, or quadrant flex", he added. Speaking to Sky News, aviation expert Terry Tozner said: "The take-off was normal, the aircraft rotated at the correct speed left the ground and almost immediately, the cut-off switches were selected to off, one then two. "But nobody has said with any clarity whether or not the latch mechanisms worked okay on this particular aircraft. So we can only assume that they were in normal working order." In India, there has been a backlash over the findings, with some saying the report points to pilot error without much information and almost dismisses the possibility of a mechanical or electric failure. Indian government responds India's civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been quick to respond, saying: "We care for the welfare and the wellbeing of pilots so let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report. "I believe we have the most wonderful workforce of pilots and crew in the whole world." 0:34 Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on Boeing 787s. The report says the aircraft maintenance checks were on schedule and that there are no signs of fuel contamination or a bird strike. So far, no safety recommendations have been issued to Boeing or General Electric, the engine manufacturers. Concern over destroyed flight recorder Mr Singh said "the survivability of the flight recorders also raises concern". The plane's rear flight recorder, designed to withstand impact forces of 3,400 Gs and temperatures of 1,100C for 60 minutes, "was damaged beyond recovery". "The Ram Air Turbine (RAT), which deploys automatically when both engines fail and power drops below a threshold, was observed as deployed in CCTV footage when the aircraft was approximately 60ft above ground level," Mr Singh said. "This suggests that the dual engine failure likely occurred before the official timestamp of 08:08:42 UTC, implying a possible discrepancy." Mr Singh said it was also "of particular note" that the plane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) did not send any signal after the crash. "Was the ELT damaged, unarmed, mis-wired, or malfunctioning?" he said. The report has generated more questions than answers on topics including human error, power source failures and mechanical or electrical malfunction. The final report is expected to take a year. Meanwhile, families grapple with the unimaginable loss of loved ones in one of the worst disasters in India's aviation history.
Time of India
20-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Morning Brief Podcast: Air India: Reboot or Relapse?
Seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad en route to London, Air India flight AI171 crashed, killing 241 of 242 people onboard, marking India's worst aviation disaster in over a this episode of The Morning Brief, host Anirban Chowdhury speaks with safety and flight ops expert Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation as well as ET's aviation experts Forum Gandhi and Arindam Majumder, to unpack the tragedy that has shaken the foundations of India's aviation the black b ...Read More ox recovered and investigations underway, the episode explores what is known so far, the hard questions around airline accountability, and whether lapses in safety protocols played a role. ...Read Less
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Experts examine what could have gone wrong
The Boeing 787 aircraft that crashed soon after taking off — it spent all of 33 seconds in the air — from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport has left the aviation industry stunned, with experts examining what could have gone wrong with the 11-year-old aircraft carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew. Video evidence from a surveillance camera at the airport showing the aircraft's final moments provide some crucial clues about the accident sequence. It reveals the plane following a normal take-off trajectory before suddenly losing its ability to climb. Moments later, it slowly descends into the horizon and erupts into a ball of fire. According to officials aware of the matter, a Mayday call was issued by the pilots shortly after take-off. HT spoke to multiple experts on the possible scenarios that may have unfolded in the moments before the crash and while each of them cautioned that early clues were insufficient to draw conclusions, they agreed that the profile of the flight in its final moments — maintaining a nose-up attitude while descending — was consistent with sudden, severe power loss. 'A B787 aircraft has extremely powerful engines. It is hard to guess what went wrong. It looks like the pilot could not get adequate thrust and realised the issue immediately after take-off,' said Amit Singh, aviation safety expert and founder of Safety Matters Foundation. What led the plane to lose power would likely be at the centre of the investigation, said another expert. 'While nothing can be said by merely looking at the video, it could be possible that the crash was because both engines stalled. Investigations will reveal what led to the situation,' said Sam Thomas, president of the Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA). That's an extremely rare event on a 787, with a probability of a 1 in billion flying hours. A third expert, Mohan Ranganathan, agreed that from the visuals, that it appeared there was 'a loss of thrust and compressor failure' — referring to the scenario when not enough air enters the engine, reducing thrust. One of the other scenarios that HT brought up was a bird strike which can potentially disable one, or in the extremely rare case of the December 2024 crash of Korea's Jeju Air Flight 2216, both engines. Thomas said the possibility was extremely slim. 'It is highly unlikely that a flock of birds hit both the engines leading to the crash,' he said. Ranganathan, however, added that 'during monsoons, bird activity around the airport increases and the airport is known for flocks of birds flying in its vicinity.' The runway surveillance footage did not have the typical signs of a bird hit, where flames or smoke is momentarily seen from an engine when birds are ingested. Another scenario involves determining what some experts said was a peculiar configuration of the plane in its final moments. In another video shot by a bystander with a closer view of the crash, the plane's landing gear is still extended but its flaps – a sort of wing deployed to generate lift – are retracted. 'That should not have been the case at all,' said Singh. A senior pilot, who asked not to be named, too drew attention to the landing gears having not been retracted as a crucial indicator. 'Landing gear is retracted after an average of 35-100 ft of climbing since the aircraft achieves what is known as a positive climb rate. As per Flightradar24, the aircraft achieved a height of 650 ft. The Ahmedabad airport is at an elevation of 180ft which essentially means aircraft achieved a height of around 400 ft. This indicates that something more systemic could have happened and was detected immediately after take-off,' said this person, suggesting the pilots may immediately have planned for a return. Other scenarios, experts said, would require investigation of whether there were problems with the fuel or the take-off weight, both of which could hamper an airliner's ability to climb. Aviation expert Vipul Saxena said that the aircraft would have had 100,000 litres of fuel for its non-stop flight to London. Saxena noted that the aircraft took off in clean configuration but faced challenging conditions. 'The aircraft experienced strong cross winds at atmospheric temperatures of above 30 degrees, which in itself could have caused certain amount of loss of lift,' he said. He highlighted the unusual landing gear configuration as a critical factor. 'Till the aircraft crashed, the undercarriage were still not retracted, which was very unusual and which too would have required more lift and, thus, more engine power,' he explained. The expert suggested a possible control system failure contributed to the aircraft's inability to recover. 'The situation seems complicated since the aircraft started sinking in a take-off attitude, which points to failure of one of the controls (may be flaps or elevators) that increased descent in take-off attitude,' Saxena said. The accident has raised broader questions about aviation safety standards. 'The 787 has been in revenue service with Air India under government management for 15 years, and it has been one of the safest Gen5+ passenger airliners ever made,' said Mark D Martin, MRAeS and CEO of Martin Consulting. 'It's shocking that, with qualified crew having extensive experience in flying hours and maintenance, we see a catastrophic incident such as this.' The pilots operating the aircraft were Capt Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Capt Sabharwal was a line training captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had 1,100 hours. Officials who knew Capt Sabharwal, who joined Air India in the late 1990s, described him as 'one of the best pilots of Air India' who 'always followed the rule book and was always sincere towards his work.' Only a detailed analysis of data from the flight data recorder, when it is found, will answer the questions that remain about Flight 171.
CNA
12-06-2025
- General
- CNA
Aviation safety analyst Amit Singh on what could have caused Air India crash
An Air India plane carrying 242 people has crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad, minutes after take-off. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was bound for London Gatwick. This marks the first time a Boeing 787 has crashed. Mr Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, shared more about what could have happened.
