Latest news with #Schiavo
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Business Standard
17-07-2025
- General
- Business Standard
AI171 crash: Boeing 787 had similar fuel switch issue in 2019, says expert
The preliminary report on the Air India Flight 171 crash, released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), has brought fresh scrutiny on the Boeing 787's fuel system. The report highlighted a critical issue: The fuel switch on the aircraft transitioned from 'Run' to 'Cutoff' shortly before the crash, though it was recovered in the 'Run' position from the Ahmedabad crash site. However, this is not the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has experienced such an issue. A similar case of unintended fuel switch transition was reported in a previous incident involving the same aircraft model. Not the first time Boeing 787 experienced such a failure: US expert In an exclusive comment to Financial Express, US aviation expert Mary Schiavo pointed out that this is not the first time such a failure has occurred on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. She cited a 2019 incident involving an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight in Japan, where the fuel switch transitioned on its own, without any pilot input, while the aircraft was on final approach. Software glitch caused ANA engine failure Schiavo told Financial Express that an investigation into the ANA incident revealed a software glitch had led to the transition of the fuel switch. The software issue caused the aircraft to mistakenly interpret that it was on the ground, prompting the Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation (TCMA) system to shut off fuel to the engines, even though the pilots had not activated the fuel cut-off themselves. The ANA flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Tokyo to Osaka with 109 passengers and nine crew members, experienced a dual engine flameout after the pilot deployed the thrust reversers for landing. The aircraft had to be towed from the runway, but no injuries were reported. Cockpit conversation casts doubt on AI171 pilot error theory The AAIB report also paraphrased a critical exchange between Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. One of the pilots asked why the other had cut off fuel supply to the engine, and the response was that he had not. Moments later, a Mayday call was issued, and AI171 crashed into a hostel for medical students just 15 seconds later. Mary Schiavo rejected suggestions that the crash was caused by pilot error, suicide, or sabotage. Speaking to Financial Express, she said there was no indication of intentional action by the crew and emphasised the need for a thorough analysis of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). She added that releasing the full CVR transcript would help prevent misinterpretation based on paraphrased excerpts. Both engines of AI171 failed, leaving pilots with no chance of recovery Schiavo told Financial Express that while the Boeing 787 is designed to operate on a single engine, the AI171 crash was more severe, as both engines reportedly lost fuel supply at the same time. This simultaneous failure left the pilots with neither the altitude nor the time required to attempt an engine restart or recover sufficient thrust to keep the aircraft airborne. When asked why the second engine could not be restarted and why the RAM Air Turbine (RAT) failed to provide enough lift or control, Schiavo explained that the window between engine deceleration and impact was extremely narrow. According to her, the aircraft began losing altitude even before it cleared the airport perimeter wall. She pointed out that in-flight engine restarts can take several seconds, some requiring a diving manoeuvre — and the crew simply did not have that kind of time. AI171 went down less than two minutes after it was cleared for take-off. Explaining the RAT's limited capacity, Schiavo said it is intended only to power essential systems like hydraulics and provide minimal electrical support, just enough to steer the aircraft. Boeing 787 software flaw must be investigated, says expert Schiavo urged investigators to examine known issues with the Throttle Control Malfunction Accommodation (TCMA) software in Boeing 787 aircraft, reported Financial Express. She pointed out that similar incidents have occurred in the past and that many 787s are of a similar vintage. A key question, she said, is whether the AI171 aircraft had been inspected for those specific software flaws. No action recommended against Boeing, yet Despite the concerns, the AAIB report stated 'no recommended actions' for Boeing or its 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. It said that no directives had been issued for the aircraft, engine operators, or manufacturers at this stage of the investigation.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
AI 171 Crash: US aviation attorney says known Boeing 787 software fault may be the reason behind Boeing 787 disaster
What happened in the sky Rare, but not impossible Live Events A history of warnings Another suspect: The human factor Too many what-ifs The AAIB report won't end it (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel On 12 June, Air India flight AI 171 lifted off from Ahmedabad for London. It never got far. The Boeing 787 used every metre of the 3.5-kilometre runway before it finally clawed itself into the sky. Thirty seconds later, the pilots issued a mayday: 'Mayday… no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.' Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder had no time. By the time they spoke to Air Traffic Control, it was already too aircraft reached just 625 feet before it began to sink. It fell at nearly 500 feet per minute. When it hit the ground, it smashed into a student hostel. Only one passenger out of 242 survived. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the dead. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor, described the aftermath as 'unimaginable'.Footage shows the 787 stayed on course. No sharp turns, no sign of birds or smoke. Just a clean, catastrophic loss of thrust from both engines. The landing gear stayed down. The wing slats stayed open to grab whatever lift they could. None of it Schiavo, a US aviation lawyer with Motley Rice, says dual engine failures are 'extremely rare'. 'When both engines fail, the cause is usually external,' she told Financial Express. She points to bird strikes, bad fuel, or weather ingestion — none fit this thinks the problem could lie deep in the Boeing 787's brains: the TCMA and FADEC. 'If the TCMA senses it's still on the ground, it throttles back the engines without pilot input,' she said. In other words, the computer may have told the plane it hadn't taken off, even as it clawed into the isn't guesswork. Schiavo points to two near-disasters: a 2025 United Airlines 787 from Nigeria to Washington that nose-dived because of a suspected computer fault, and a 2019 ANA flight where the TCMA failed outright. She says the data recorders from AI 171 will confirm if that's what doomed the switches are getting a hard look. According to Bloomberg and The Air Current, investigators think the pilots may have accidentally shut off fuel to both engines. John Cox, an ex-airline pilot, says, 'If you move those switches from run to cutoff, those engines will stop running in literally seconds.' In a cockpit crowded with checklists and blinking lights, pilots sometimes make fatal mistakes under pressure. It's happened before. A Delta pilot in the 80s cut the fuel by accident but had altitude to restart. AI 171 did far, there's no proof of sabotage. Schiavo says intelligence chatter shows no sign of that. The take-off video shows the moment the engines throttle back — right when they should be at full thrust. Ahmedabad Airport doesn't even have arrestor beds to catch an overrun. No pilot would pull power on purpose just after quoted aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse: 'In commercial aviation, a dual-engine failure is extremely rare… in the one in a million range.' When it does happen, pilots rely on an emergency turbine to keep vital systems alive. AI 171's Ram Air Turbine did deploy, proof that all other power was Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its first report soon. It will offer the first official clues but no big conclusions. What we know is this: a fully fuelled Dreamliner lost power and fell out of the sky, killing almost everyone aboard and dozens more on the are now dissecting flight hours, pilot training, design quirks, and a million lines of code. Neither Boeing nor GE Aerospace has commented in detail. The US National Transportation Safety Board is helping but staying aircraft. Two dead engines. Three decades of lessons on what's supposed to be impossible. AI 171 shows that when software, switches or humans fail in the air, there is often no second chance. In the coming months, the data recorders will speak. Until then, families wait. And so does an entire country that trusted that plane to fly.
Hans India
01-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Aviation Expert Links Boeing 787 Software Malfunction To Deadly Ahmedabad Air India Crash
A prominent US aviation attorney has raised serious concerns about a potential software malfunction in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that may have contributed to the devastating Air India Flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad. Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation and current aviation attorney with Motley Rice, suggests that a computer-triggered engine thrust rollback could have been the catalyst for the tragedy that claimed 274 lives in May 2025. During an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Schiavo outlined her theory that the catastrophic accident may have resulted from a documented software-related engine malfunction that has previously affected Boeing 787 aircraft. The veteran aviation expert, drawing from her extensive experience in aircraft safety investigations, believes the incident bears troubling similarities to earlier documented cases involving the same aircraft model. The Air India Dreamliner crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad airport, creating one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent Indian history. Schiavo's analysis focuses on the possibility that the aircraft experienced a dual engine thrust rollback triggered by a software failure, a specific type of malfunction that has been investigated and documented in previous Boeing 787 incidents across the global fleet. Central to Schiavo's concerns is the Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation system, a critical safety mechanism integrated into the Boeing 787's engine management architecture. This system operates through the Full Authority Digital Engine Control, a sophisticated computer-based platform designed to optimize engine performance and maintain flight safety. However, Schiavo warns that this same system can automatically reduce engine thrust without pilot intervention if it incorrectly determines that the aircraft is on the ground rather than airborne. Such a misclassification during flight could result in catastrophic power loss at a critical phase of flight operations, potentially explaining the circumstances surrounding the AI-171 disaster. The aviation attorney emphasizes that this type of software-induced malfunction represents a particularly dangerous scenario because it can override pilot control and create emergency situations that may be difficult to recover from, especially during takeoff when aircraft are most vulnerable. Schiavo drew parallels to a 2019 incident involving Japan Air Nippon Airways where a similar dual-engine rollback occurred on a Boeing 787. That incident was subsequently investigated by the US National Transportation Safety Board, which conclusively determined that a software flaw was responsible for the malfunction. Following that investigation, corrective measures were mandated for the Boeing 787 fleet, though Schiavo questions whether these fixes were comprehensively implemented across all aircraft of this model worldwide. The aviation expert also highlighted concerning parallels with Boeing's handling of the 737 MAX MCAS software failures, suggesting that while the aviation industry's attention was focused on those highly publicized disasters, potential risks within the 787 system may not have received adequate attention or resolution. This observation raises broader questions about Boeing's software quality control processes and the comprehensive nature of safety updates across different aircraft models. Schiavo stressed the critical importance of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation conducting a thorough and independent investigation into the AI-171 crash. She emphasized that investigators must examine not only the information and data that Boeing provides but also critically assess what information might be missing or incomplete. This comprehensive approach should include analysis of health data transmitted by the aircraft systems, which would have been accessible to both Air India and Boeing throughout the flight. The attorney called for meticulous examination of maintenance records, software update compliance histories, and any prior safety alerts or warnings related to the specific aircraft involved in the crash. She argues that such a comprehensive investigation is essential to determine whether known software vulnerabilities contributed to the disaster and whether adequate corrective measures had been implemented on the accident aircraft. This case highlights ongoing concerns about the increasing reliance on automated systems in modern commercial aviation and the potential risks when these systems malfunction or misinterpret flight conditions. As aviation technology becomes more sophisticated, the interaction between software systems and flight safety continues to present complex challenges for both manufacturers and regulatory agencies worldwide, making thorough investigation and transparent reporting of such incidents crucial for preventing future tragedies.
Daily Mirror
25-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Expert details Air India plane's 'problem' she believes led to horror crash
Air India flight AI171 crashed earlier this month - killing all but one of the 242 people onboard - but Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the airline, defended the plane's "clean" engines A computer glitch caused the doomed Air India flight AI171 to crash earlier this month, an aviation expert claimed today. The snag would have sent wrong information to the engine, potentially leading it to believe the Boeing was on the ground when in fact it was airborne on Thursday June 12 in Ahmedabad, western India. The plane careered into a medical college, killing all but one of those onboard and several more people in the building and on the ground. Mary Schiavo, an experienced professional who has worked on aviation disasters across each continent, said she believes a computer error is the most likely cause following a lack of concrete information shared by investigators so far. The former US Department of Transportation inspector general said: "I believe this crash was a computer problem. There are several 787 components that rely on computer code to tell the plane whether it is in the air or on the ground. If the computer or code malfunctions, the engines spool back and the thrust is reduced, even if in flight. "This happened on an ANA 787 flight in 2019, which suffered a dual engine failure as landing, and I'm afraid it could have occurred on the fatal Air India Flight 171." Ms Schiavo is now an aviation analyst and attorney, working for Motley Rice, a law firm investigating the possibilities of what might have occurred during the 787 Dreamliner disaster. As an attorney, she represented more than 50 of the family members of the passengers and crew of all the planes hijacked on September 11, 2001. But the expert says the Air India Flight 171 disaster shares parallels with the ANA 787 flight tragedy in July 2019, which saw another Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner - operated by All Nippon Airways - suffer an engine oil problem on approach to Haneda, also known as Tokyo International Airport, in Japan. It experienced a dual engine failure, something Ms Schiavo believes could have happened to the Air India jet. However, the airline's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, last week defended the plane's engines, describing them as "clean". The 62-year-old businessman told Times Now: "The right engine was a new engine put in March 2025. "The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and due for its next maintenance check in December 2025. There are a lot of speculations and a lot of theories. "But the fact that I know so far is this particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI171, has a clean history. I am told by all the experts that the black box and recorders will definitely tell the story. So, we just have to wait for that." The investigation into the crash continues.
7NEWS
13-06-2025
- General
- 7NEWS
Doomed Air India plane was in Australia just before tragic accident that killed hundreds in Ahmedabad
The doomed Air India plane which crashed into a medical school soon after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday was in Melbourne just days earlier, flight logs show. The aircraft, registered as VT-ANB, was in Australia four days ago. It flew into Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport on Sunday, at 9.08pm as flight AI308, before departing for Delhi at 11.18pm as flight AI309. The plane had no recorded significant problems. It is the first fatal crash of a 787 'Dreamliner' since the planes began service in 2013. According to the logs, the plane went on to fly from Delhi to Paris and Tokyo, return. It was then used for the ill-fated flight from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick Airport. On Friday, 7NEWS reporter Josh Martin spoke about the plane's Australia connection. '(The prime minister has) conveyed his sympathy for the victims and their families with a post on X. 'Anthony Albanese says the news of a passenger plane in Ahmedabad is absolutely devastating. 'Sunrise understands no Australians were on board the flight, but the Ebe Ere craft that crashed was in Australia just days ago. 'Flight logs show it flew into Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport, landing at 9:08pm on Sunday June 8. 'It departed just two hours later back to Delhi. 'There's no information the aircraft had any incidents on its recent Australian legs. 'This news will touch the Indian and British diasporas in Australia, which are quite large in Australia.' India will lead crash investigation Investigators from all over the world will try to figure out what went wrong, one expert said. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people when it departed Ahmedabad International airport for London Gatwick Airport. Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation, said India would be lead investigator, while well-established procedures will dictate how other countries can support the investigation. 'Through lots of experience in the past and by treaties and operation of law, how the investigation in international aircraft works is very well established,' she told CNN today. The plane was heading to London, so the United Kingdom will participate in the investigation, she said, as well as other countries who had nationals on the plane. Boeing and the companies who manufactured the electronics and control systems in the aircraft will also likely be involved, according to Schiavo. 'So there will be just a wealth of experience and abilities' involved in the investigation, she said. Before the plane crashed, the pilot gave a Mayday call to air traffic control shortly after takeoff, according to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Investigators will work to recover the black boxes, or flight recorders, to learn more about what happened, Schiavo said. 'India is an aviation nation and very experienced, and they will have experts that could do that,' she said, referring to retrieving the information from those recorders. Air India's statement after the crash Air India has confirmed that of the 242 people on board its plane that crashed in Ahmedabad, India, all but one died. The sole survivor is a British national of Indian origin, it said. 'We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital,' Air India said in a statement. The flight was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national. Boeing CEO cancels Paris Air Show trip Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has cancelled plans to attend the Paris Air Show next week following the crash, Reuters reported on Thursday. Ortberg said the company will fully support the US National Transportation Safety Board and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in their investigative process into the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, according to Reuters. Trump offers assistance after crash US President Donald Trump expressed concern about the fatal plane crash in India on Thursday and said he has pledged US support if needed in its aftermath. 'The plane crash was terrible. I've already told them, anything we can do — it's a big country, a strong country, they'll handle it — I'm sure,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'But I let them know that anything we can do, we'll be over there immediately. But it was a horrific crash.' Trump said he 'gave them a couple of pointers' but declined to share what they were.
