Air India Plane Crash: Investigation Focuses on Engines, Flaps, and Landing Gear

Strategic Insights -

As British experts arrived to assist in the investigation, the flight data recorder from the crashed Boeing 787 was recovered from the wreckage of the London-bound jet that crashed seconds after take-off from India, killing all but one of the 242 on board. The recovery of the flight data recorder is a crucial step in understanding the cause of the disaster, but the cockpit voice recorder remains missing. Air India flight AI171 to London Gatwick began losing height moments after take-off and erupted in a huge fireball after hitting the accommodation block of a medical college, killing at least five more people.

Key Takeaways:

  • The investigation is focusing on the engines, flaps, and landing gear of the Boeing 787.
  • India's aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline's entire Boeing-787 fleet.
  • Air India has more than 30 Dreamliners, including Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 versions.
  • The airline has been ordered to conduct additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines.
  • The crash killed 241 people, including 5 who died on the ground, and only one passenger survived.
  • The passenger who survived, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a British national, told Indian reporters that the aircraft was stuck in the air and gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.
  • Air India's parent company, Tata Group, took control of the airline in 2022 and merged it with Vistara in 2023.
  • Indian prime minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and some of the injured being treated in hospital.
  • A FCDO helpline set up as a result of the crash had received "almost 300" calls as of Friday morning.

Statistics:

  • 242 people were on board the crashed jet.
  • 241 people were killed in the disaster, including 5 who died on the ground.
  • Only 1 passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash.
  • 5 people died on the ground when the aircraft crashed into the accommodation block of a medical college.
  • Air India has more than 30 Dreamliners, including Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 versions.
  • The airline has been ordered to conduct additional maintenance actions on 20 of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft.

Sources:

  • Reuters
  • Associated Press
  • Narendra Modi/Youtube
  • A source in Air India
  • A source in the Indian government
  • Indian Airlines press release.