As investigations continue, the most probable cause for the Air India flight crash that happened last week has been revealed. Right now, investigators are looking into what happened, and are analysing data from the two black boxes discovered from the aircraft.
Flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident not long after take off. It was carrying 242 passengers in total, 53 of which were British nationals. So far, only one survivor has been confirmed.
As part of ongoing investigations, the plane’s black boxes are being analysed. A black box records flight data, and includes a cockpit voice recorder for pilot exchanges and cockpit sounds. It will also pick up engine sounds.
Since this discovery, it’s been reported the “most probable” cause of the Air India crash is a critical loss of power from both the plane’s engines. Dual engine power loss is described as “extremely rare”. According to the BBC, this type of failure is “almost unheard of”.
via Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times/Shutterstock
The most notable example of this happening is the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson”, when a US Airways Airbus A320 lost both engines after it struck a flock of birds, just moments after it took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. All those on board were rescued.
Video footage from the Air India flight crash has suggested this may have been what happened. Footage and investigations so far have found the plane failed to gain altitude, climbing only about 450 feet before crashing. This is possibly due to reduced thrust from the engines.
The final words of the pilot have been revealed, and explain this was a problem he was having. “Thrust not achieved… falling… Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot said just moments before impact. He is also reported to have mentioned engine failure.
Steve Scheibner, a Boeing 777 captain with American Airlines and crash analyst, told The Times: “I’m solidly in the camp that there was dual engine failure. The RAT is deployed. You can hear it.” The RAT is the Ram Air Turbine, and is used in dire circumstances to provide pressure for an aircraft.
via YouTube
“It looks like a little Evinrude motor, it’s a little two-bladed prop,” Steve Scheibner said in a YouTube video, analysing the Air India crash. “Its function is to provide electrical and hydraulic pressure for the aircraft in an extreme emergency.”
For an aircraft such as Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the RAT is deployed under one of three circumstances: A massive electrical failure, a huge hydraulic failure, or a dual engine failure.
The exact cause of what happened remains unknown.
For more, like The Tab on Facebook. Featured image via Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times/Shutterstock.
