Kolkata: The authorities are probing the reason behind the crash of the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London on June 12 that killed 241 out of 242 people on board. According to a News18 report, officials who are familiar with the probe suspect there was a sudden power failure just moments after the flight took off and it probably brought the plane down, resulting in its crash into a medical hostel building after going up just 625 feet.
The final reason will be known after decoding the black box, initial assessments of several things ATC reports, videos of takeoff, and patterns of wreckage indicate the aircraft’s main electrical system’s failure which took place within seconds of takeoff. It failed to gain the minimum altitude needed for an emergency turnaround or make use of its Ram Air Turbine (RAT), a backup system which supplies power to critical functions when there is a total electrical loss.
Authorities have recovered the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) currently has them. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that local authorities have extended full support to the probe and that key recovery works have been completed. Also, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has clarified there there is no final decision yet on whether the black boxes will be sent abroad for probe.
The Indian Express said in a report quoting an officer aware of the ongoing probe that there was no cockpit error as per early investigations. Rather, the pilots possibly tried to gain manual control but failed due to lack of altitude. The plane could gain an altitude of only 625 feet, far below the safe path minimum of 3,600 feet. If it managed to gain an elevation of around 3,600 to 4,900 feet, then things could have been different. Also, the investigators are probing the technical logs and maintenance records of the aircraft from 24 to 48 hours before the crash. Also, they are examining if fuel contamination led to power failure.
According to UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is now in Ahmedabad to help with the probe, concluded during the February 2020 incident at London’s Gatwick Airport that fuel system contamination caused it. Notably, the Ahmedabad crash is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed. It has raised several questions including fuel quality verification, pre-flight inspection protocols, and last-mile maintenance checks.
