The pilots on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call to air traffic control moments after takeoff when they had only reached an altitude of about 190 meters. Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran told CNBC-TV18 from Ahmedabad that the airline is actively coordinating with Boeing and GE Aerospace to ensure full support. They have a team of experts on the ground assisting with the investigation.
“I’ve also asked them to send their best experts to work with us in this process. They are very supportive,” he said.
Speaking with Agence France-Presse, resident Poonam Patni said, ‘” When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefigh’ters were dousing the flames. Many of the bodies were burned.”
Air India plane crash
Another witness added, “We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames. We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital.”
Investigators have located one of the two black boxes, but its exact contents are yet to be determined. Meanwhile, several aviation experts have emphasized the importance of not jumping to conclusions less than 24 hours after the crash, calling for a thorough investigation and examination of the black box, as well as the flight data recorder.
Still, some aviation analysts have put forward several theories as to why the fatal incident occurred. Speaking to The Guardian, Dr Sonya Brown, a senior lecturer in aerospace design at the University of New South Wales, claimed that footage of the crash suggests the plane stalled.
“It does look to me like a significant loss of thrust. Thrust effectively makes you go faster, and aircraft lift is proportional to speed squared, so if you don’t have thrust and you lose speed – and radar data suggests after the initial short climb it was losing speed – you can stall,” Brown said, adding that it’s unclear what caused the lack of thrust.
Footage showed how the aircraft climbed away from the runway before sinking back down and disappearing behind trees, bursting into flames. More than 260 people in total have been confirmed killed in the plane crash.
Aviation experts’ theories on the Air India plane crash
As mentioned, one of the black boxes has been retrieved; however, its contents remain unknown. Meanwhile, other aviation experts have shared their theories on what could’ve happened.
In an interview with the Mirror, Prof John McDermid, Lloyd’s Register Chair of Safety, University of York, said that “takeoff and landing are the most dangerous phases of flight” and that “accidents from cruise are very unusual.” However, he added, “it’s surprising that the accident occurred before the aircraft had even got to 200 metres altitude.”
McDermid continued, “Pilots can abort takeoff until quite late in the takeoff roll, so it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly in the final part of the takeoff roll, or shortly after takeoff, and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.”
Moreover, Prof John McDermid said that it’s “very unlikely” that the crash was caused by the plane being overweight or carrying too much fuel.
“It is too early to say much about the cause of the crash in any detail – about the only observation one can make is about the timing,” he pointed out. “Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous phases of flight – accidents from cruise are very unusual.
“It is a puzzle why something so catastrophic should happen”
Prof. Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, said that “weather conditions at the airport appear to have been very good” at the time, with “good visibility and light winds from the west.” Also, he claimed that there is “no indication at this stage that turbulence or other weather conditions were a factor in the crash.”
Prof Graham Braithwaite, Director of Aerospace and Aviation at Cranfield University, said: “This is the first major accident involving the 787. Take off is a critical stage because the aircraft is still accelerating, and any problem-solving requires a rapid response.”
Former airline split Terry Tozer told GB News that it’s “far too early to speculate” about the cause of the tragic incident. However, he added, “The aircraft should have been able to take a fairly substantial failure and continue to take off safely, it is a puzzle why something so catastrophic should happen.”
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