Air India Aircraft Crash: Almost 10 days have handed since considered one of India’s worst aviation disasters in many years, a case that, in line with specialists, occurs as soon as in one million, however investigators are nonetheless looking for solutions.
On June 12, Air India flight AI 717 crashed lower than 40 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, killing round 270 individuals, together with all besides one out of 242 onboard and several other residents on the bottom.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, certain for London Gatwick, went down within the Meghaninagar space of the town, hanging the residential quarters and mess corridor of BJ Medical School. The flight took off at 1:39 pm native time. Pilots Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar made a mayday name shortly after liftoff. It was the ultimate communication from the plane earlier than it misplaced altitude and crashed in flames.
Additionally Learn:Ahmedabad Aircraft Crash: Air India pilot issued Mayday name earlier than flight with 242 onboard crashed close to airport
AAIB investigation underway
A multi-disciplinary staff from the Plane Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is main the probe. A high-level committee beneath the Union residence secretary can be investigating and is predicted to submit its report inside three months.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that each units of black packing containers, the digital flight information recorder and cockpit voice recorder, have been recovered. One was discovered on June 13, the opposite on June 16. “The investigation is progressing steadily with all needed help from native authorities and businesses,” the ministry stated in a press release.
In a latest interview with a information channel, Air India and Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said that the plane had no recognized faults and that each pilots had been “distinctive.” “There are a whole lot of speculations and theories,” he stated, including, “However the reality is, this particular plane has a clear historical past.”
He stated the best engine had been changed with a brand new one in March 2025, whereas the left engine was final serviced in 2023 and was due for a verify in December. Following his remarks, hypothesis across the AI 717 crash intensified, with a number of theories now beneath scrutiny.
Additionally Learn: After Ahmedabad AI171 tragedy, Air India trims widebody aircraft-operated worldwide providers by 15%
Greatest questions surrounding ill-fated AI171 as investigations are underway
- Was the plane overloaded or improperly balanced?
- Did each engines fail mid-air?
- Did a crew error or misjudgment happen?
- Have been the flaps incorrectly set or retracted too early?
- Did excessive floor warmth in Ahmedabad affect efficiency?
- Was there a vital electrical or hydraulic failure?
- Why didn’t the touchdown gear retract?
Right here’s what specialists say about every idea, how credible they’re, and which have already been dominated out.
– Was there a co-pilot error or configuration mistake?
Veteran Indian Air Pressure (IAF) pilot and aviation knowledgeable Captain Ehsan Khalid has rejected the speculation of pilot error or takeoff misconfiguration. “Trendy plane have in depth automation that forestalls such errors. If the plane is not within the right configuration for takeoff, the system points loud audio and visible warnings, making it nearly unattainable for the crew to proceed with out correcting it,” he advised Zeebiz.com.
He additionally dismissed the speculation that the pilot could have mistakenly retracted the flaps as a substitute of the touchdown gear. “Even when flaps had been retracted unintentionally, they don’t go up instantaneously, it takes 10 to fifteen seconds. By then, the plane would usually have climbed 400 to 500 toes. At worst, this could trigger a minor loss in altitude, round 75 to 150 toes, not a catastrophic failure,” he added.
Addressing the speculation that the pilot could have mistakenly pulled the unsuitable lever, just like what occurred within the Pokhara crash, Captain Amit Singh, an air security knowledgeable, dismissed the chance on this case.
“In some plane, similar-looking levers positioned shut collectively could cause confusion beneath strain. However on this plane, the touchdown gear lever is positioned in entrance, whereas the flap lever is positioned to the facet, close to the pilot’s hip. It might require a deliberate sideways hand motion to succeed in it,” he defined in dialog with Zeebiz.com.
He additional famous that each levers are designed with security mechanisms. “Particularly the flap lever, it has a security catch that should be lifted earlier than it may be moved. Unintentional retraction is extremely unlikely,” Singh added.
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-May excessive warmth have grow to be a catalyst in crash?
In response to aviation knowledgeable Vipul Saxena, who advised Zeebiz.com, there’s a chance that excessive warmth performed a task. The situations in Ahmedabad that day could have created an added layer of stress for the plane.
“On that day, Ahmedabad recorded an ambient temperature of 37 levels Celsius, however as a result of floor heating, the floor temperature may have been as excessive as 45 levels Celsius,” Saxena defined, referring to what’s often called the “floor impact.” “This floor impact, the place sizzling air lingers close to the floor, can affect plane efficiency, particularly throughout takeoff. It reduces engine effectivity and may prolong as much as 100 toes above floor,” he added.
Utilizing a easy analogy to elucidate the science behind it, Saxena stated: “With the warmth, air or gasoline… they broaden.” This enlargement reduces air density, which in flip impacts raise and makes engines work tougher, particularly throughout takeoff when each little bit of efficiency issues, in line with him.
Nonetheless, Khalid dismissed the concept warmth alone may trigger each engines to fail. “These plane are constructed to function in such temperatures. Whereas excessive warmth does cut back engine efficiency, that’s factored into pre-flight planning via load changes,” he stated.
Backing this, Singh famous, “Plane engines are highly effective sufficient to fly even when one fails. Techniques are designed with tolerances to deal with such situations.”
– Overloading or weight imbalance?
Singh termed overloading or weight imbalance a severe and doubtlessly legal concern, stating that such components, if confirmed, may quantity to culpable negligence. He famous that engine failures are uncommon — 99.99 per cent of engines don’t fail — and stated overloading usually goes unnoticed until it coincides with different failures.
“On this case, the plane could have confronted a mix of challenges — extra weight, excessive temperature, engine failure, and touchdown gear that didn’t retract. All these collectively can flip a nasty day right into a disaster,” Singh stated.
Khalid echoed the necessity for readability, stressing that investigators should set up whether or not the plane was overloaded, and in that case, by how a lot. “We’ve got the information, the variety of passengers, the gas load, the cargo weight. Was it 5 tonnes, 10 tonnes, or extra? We don’t know that but, however it is going to be key to understanding what went unsuitable,” he stated.
– Skilled factors to electrical failure in AI 717 crash
Saxena defined that the activation of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) throughout the Air India flight suggests {an electrical} failure onboard. “RAT operates solely when the engine isn’t producing sufficient electrical energy or when there’s a hydraulic failure, which impacts techniques like touchdown gear retraction and flight controls,” Saxena stated.
He added that prime floor temperatures could have diminished engine effectivity, resulting in low energy output and triggering the RAT. “RAT may also help decrease the touchdown gear however doesn’t generate sufficient energy to retract it. So as soon as the gears are down, they keep down, rising drag and requiring extra thrust, which the plane was already struggling to generate.”
In response to Khalid, probably the most credible trigger is a catastrophic electrical failure that compromised the plane’s computer-controlled techniques, particularly, the Digital Engine Controls (EEC) and Gasoline Management Items (FCU). These techniques regulate engine efficiency. In the event that they obtain defective indicators as a result of electrical failure, they will shut down each engines mid-air.
Khalid cited an analogous incident from 2019 involving a Boeing 787 in Osaka, the place software program logic led to each engines shutting down on touchdown roll. Whereas that occurred on the bottom, he famous the potential for an analogous malfunction occurring in-flight if a vital sensor or electrical unit failed.
He additionally pointed to seen indicators: touchdown gear not retracting, RAT deployment, and lack of engine thrust — all indicating a complete lack of electrical and hydraulic help, per a twin engine failure triggered by system-level malfunction, not pilot error.
Air India Aircraft Crash: So what truly introduced down AI 717?
Consultants stay break up. Aviation analyst Vipul Saxena attributes it to excessive floor warmth in Ahmedabad, with temperatures nearing 45 levels Celsius, which can have brought about a lack of engine thrust as a result of diminished air density, triggering a sequence of failures — electrical techniques tripped, the RAT deployed, and the touchdown gear couldn’t retract, rising drag. Saxena believes these situations led to the plane’s deadly descent, with out pointing to any pilot or mechanical error.
Nonetheless, Captain Amit Singh stays cautious, suggesting overloading or misjudgment can’t be dominated out, whereas aviation knowledgeable Ehsan Khalid sees a potential electrical techniques collapse that shut down each engines mid-air, just like a 2019 incident in Osaka involving a Boeing 787. Some even recalled the 1991 Lauda Air catastrophe, the place a midair thrust reverser deployment introduced down a completely useful aircraft. For now, investigators are decoding the black field, and till that information speaks, the true trigger stays grounded in hypothesis.
