The Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad is the primary time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed for the reason that airplane’s introduction in 2011.
Whereas airways utilizing the Boeing airplane have had widespread issues with engines on the 787 – leading to many having to floor planes and cut back flights – the 787’s security file in service has to date been good.
Nonetheless, the US security regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has needed to examine a number of issues through the years, together with a mid-air dive on a Latam flight final yr.
A whistleblower final yr additionally urged Boeing to floor all 787 Dreamliners worldwide, in Washington hearings. Boeing rejected the claims by the previous engineer and mentioned it was totally assured within the airplane.
There are greater than 1,100 787s in service, with most main worldwide airways utilizing them. The mannequin has been prized for its much better gasoline effectivity and decrease noise than the categories it changed.
The 2 main crashes that had been as a consequence of faults on Boeing planes had been utilizing the then new 737 Max mannequin, in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019. That mannequin was taken out of service for nearly a yr, earlier than being relaunched and returned to widespread use.
Final month, Boeing agreed to pay $1.1bn (£812m) in a cope with the US Division of Justice to keep away from prosecution over the 2 crashes that collectively killed 346 folks – a deal that attorneys for among the victims’ households known as “morally repugnant”.
India’s aviation security historical past has been chequered, however because the airline trade has boomed and passenger flying has grow to be increasingly widespread, its security file has improved.
The final Air India crash, in August 2020, concerned a smaller Boeing 737-800 Air India Categorical that was touchdown at Calicut airport in dangerous climate when it skidded off the runway.
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Air India operates 34 Dreamliners, with 20 extra on order, and has been utilizing the US-built long-haul mannequin since 2012. Tata Group purchased the airline from the Indian authorities in 2022, andannounced plans final yr to revamp and improve its fleet, together with refurbishing its 787s. Issues holding up Boeing deliveries have meant that Air India, like different airways, has continued to function older planes for longer than deliberate.
The Indian-led crash investigation will embody consultants from the UK Air Accident Investigation Department, due to the variety of British victims, the US Nationwide Transportation Security Board and Boeing.
A Boeing spokesperson mentioned: “We are in contact with Air India regarding flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”
Investigators will hope to swiftly find and analyse the black field knowledge recorders, together with the cockpit voice recorder. Regardless of its human toll, the Ahmedabad crash was comparatively low-impact. CCTV footage exhibits the airplane beginning to descend simply seconds after leaving the runway.
Based on flight-tracking data on Flight Radar, the airplane had reached a most peak of simply 190 metres (625ft).
Airplane crashes are statistically most certainly to occur throughout touchdown or takeoff, however consultants mentioned there seemed to be no apparent clarification for the crash. Climate circumstances had been benign. Photographs present the airplane’s nostril within the air, indicating the pilots had been making an attempt to maintain it aloft, though the touchdown gear was apparently lowered.
David Gleave, a former accident investigator, advised the BBC: “It’s a very unusual accident … it’s a very unusual situation, so soon after takeoff, and it is a very safe aeroplane.”
John McDermid, a professor on the College of York, mentioned: “Pilots can abort takeoff until quite late. So it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly … and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.”
Passenger plane are designed to have the ability to fly on one engine. Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics on the College of Portsmouth, mentioned: “The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”
