Air India crash: Airline says one engine on plane was new as damaged black box to be sent to US for analysis
Indian aviation regulator finds no major safety flaws in Air India Dreamliners but flags maintenance and coordination issues
The Air India plane that crashed last week had one new engine installed in March this year, while the other was last serviced in 2023 and wasn’t due for maintenance until December, according to the airline’s chairperson N Chandrasekaran.
India will send the black box from the crashed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the US for analysis after it sustained “heavy damage”, The Economic Times has reported, citing an internal source.
More than 200 victims of the 12 June crash have been identified through DNA testing, Indian authorities said yesterday.
Investigators probing the crash have found that the aircraft’s emergency power system was likely active just before impact.
The Wall Street Journal reported that this possibly suggested an engine or hydraulic failure during takeoff, a rare event in commercial aviation.
Air India is cutting its international wide body operations by 15 per cent for a few weeks due to safety inspections.
Families in India with concerns can call Air India on 1800 5691 444. Those outside India can call the British Foreign Office on 020 7008 5000.
British survivor of Air India crash seen carrying brother’s casket at funeral
Why did the Air India flight crash? Here’s how experts will investigate the disaster in Ahmedabad
It is a miracle, says lone survivor of Air India plane crash.png?quality=75&width=230&auto=webp)
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Why did the Air India flight crash? Here’s how experts will investigate the disaster in Ahmedabad
Investigators in India are working to identify the cause of the Air India plane crash that killed all but one of the 242 passengers on board on Thursday 12 June. Dozens of people on the ground also died. It was the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The flight, which had been bound for London Gatwick, came down shortly after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft departed at 08:08:44 GMT (1.38pm local time) from runway 23 and climbed only a few hundred feet before crashing less than a minute later.
Read more by Simon Calder here:
Why did Air India flight crash? How experts will investigate the Ahmedabad disaster
Air India chairperson apologises for cancellations
In a message to members, Air India chairperson Campbell Wilson expressed regret over the increased number of flight cancellations seen in recent days. In the past six days, 83 Air India flights have been cancelled, impacting passengers.
He attributed the disruptions to the extended time required for safety checks on the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet, which are now being extended to Boeing 777 aircraft as well.
He wrote: “Regrettably, the time required to perform these enhanced safety checks, along with the application of extra caution, external factors like airspace closures in Iran and the Middle East as well as night-time restrictions at some international airports, along with normal airline technical issues, has led to a higher-than-usual number of cancellations on our long-haul network in the past few days. We know these disruptions have been frustrating, and we’re truly sorry for the inconvenience.”
Air India cutting widebody international operations by 15% for few weeks
Air India is cutting its international widebody operations by 15 per cent for a few weeks due to safety inspections and disruptions following the deadly crash of flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that killed 241 people on board.
So far, 26 of the airline’s 33 Dreamliners have been cleared after inspection.
The airline, owned by the Tata Group, said the reductions will remain in place through at least mid-July to maintain operational stability, improve efficiency, and reduce passenger inconvenience.
Air India added that inspections of the remaining aircraft will be carried out in the coming days, with further checks also scheduled for its Boeing 777 fleet.
Air India also attributed the recent wave of flight cancellations, 83 in the past six days, to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and night curfews affecting several European and East Asian airspaces, Reuters reported.
More than 200 Air India crash victims identified, minister says
Indian authorities have identified over 200 victims of the 12 June Air India crash through DNA testing, the Indian authorities said yesterday.
“As of 2pm, 202 DNA (samples) have been matched,” Mr Harsh Sanghavi, home minister of Ahmedabad’s Gujarat state, wrote on X.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, killing 241 on board and more than 30 on the ground.
The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. Experts from India, the UK and the US are examining data from the recovered black boxes.
Earlier, Indian aviation regulator called for inspections of all 33 Dreamliners with Air India and so far 26 have been cleared by the DGCA.
Air India chairperson says crashed plane had clean engine history
Air India chairperson N Chandrasekaran has said that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed last week had a clean engine history.
In an interview with Times Now, he said that the right engine was newly installed in March this year, and the left was last serviced in 2023.
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board and about 30 on the ground.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the emergency power system was likely activated on flight AI171 before the crash, implying that an engine or hydraulic failure occurred during takeoff.
Lone Air India crash survivor attends brother’s funeral
Viswashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India flight AI171 crash, attended the funeral of his brother Ajay, who was among the 241 passengers and 30 people on the ground who died.
Still recovering and visibly emotional, he helped carry his brother’s coffin through their hometown.
As families across India mourn, efforts to identify victims continue, with more than 200 bodies confirmed so far through DNA testing.
Air India’s chairman reiterated that the crashed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had no known engine issues.
Boeing 787’s emergency-power system likely active before Air India crash - report
Investigators looking into the deadly crash of Air India Flight 171, which claimed over 270 lives, have found that the aircraft’s emergency power system was likely activated shortly before impact.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this could point to a possible engine or hydraulic failure during takeoff, an extremely rare but serious issue in commercial aviation.
However, investigators have not yet confirmed what triggered the emergency system, the report said, citing sources familiar with the inquiry.
More than 200 Air India crash victims identified, minister says
Indian authorities have identified over 200 victims of the 12 June Air India crash through DNA testing, the Indian authorities said yesterday.
“As of 2pm, 202 DNA (samples) have been matched,” Mr Harsh Sanghavi, home minister of Ahmedabad’s Gujarat state, wrote on X.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, killing 241 on board and more than 30 on the ground.
The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. Experts from India, the UK and the US are examining data from the recovered black boxes.
Earlier, Indian aviation regulator called for inspections of all 33 Dreamliners with Air India and so far 26 have been cleared by the DGCA.
India to send black box from crashed Air India to US for analysis
India will send the black box from the crashed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the US for analysis after it sustained extensive external damage, The Economic Times has reported, citing an internal source.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington will handle the extraction, with findings shared with India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
“While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in Delhi last year, it is yet to be properly equipped to extract data from recorders which have sustained heavy damage. The NTSB team will carry them to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure that proper protocols are followed,” a person involved in the process told ET.
Why did the Air India flight crash? Here’s how experts will investigate the disaster in Ahmedabad
Investigators in India are working to identify the cause of the Air India plane crash that killed all but one of the 242 passengers on board on Thursday 12 June. Dozens of people on the ground also died. It was the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The flight, which had been bound for London Gatwick, came down shortly after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft departed at 08:08:44 GMT (1.38pm local time) from runway 23 and climbed only a few hundred feet before crashing less than a minute later.
With speculation rife about the cause of the disaster, Indian safety experts have been joined by teams from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to work out what happened as the disaster on flight AI171 unfolded.
Both “black boxes” – the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – have been recovered from the wreckage. The information they contain will help investigators piece together the doomed flight and determine the causes. The investigators will gather evidence from air-traffic control, radar, CCTV and observers to understand what factors were involved in the accident. They will also talk to the sole survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, about what he recalls during the crash.
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