Will it ever fly?

[samhexum]

On 6/30/2025 at 7:47 AM, glutes said:

Well written article from The Beeb:

Long before the Air India tragedy, the cause of which is still to be determined, people who had worked on the 787 had raised concerns about the production standards

A year ago today, 260 people died in the tragic Air India crash. Air India Flight 171 departed from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on June 12, headed for London.

The aircraft carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, but just 32 seconds after takeoff, the plane catastrophically crashed into student housing just one mile from the airport. All but one person on board died, along with 19 people on the ground. An additional 67 people sustained serious injuries.

In a deeply troubling revelation following the crash, five chilling words spoken between the pilots aboard the doomed Air India flight have now been revealed. The disturbing details of the cockpit conversation that occurred moments before the Air India aircraft met its catastrophic fate were released in the official report issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau late Friday. The haunting words recorded on the cockpit voice recorder have been confirmed by the report: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other 'why did you cut off?' The other pilot responded that he did not do so." 

Investigators suspect that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel flow switches for both engines were mistakenly activated almost at the same time, just seconds after takeoff, shutting off the fuel supply and causing the catastrophic incident as both engines shut down.

The report states: "At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted 'Thrust not achieved... falling... MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'. The ATCO enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response."

The exchange between the pilots in the cockpit has sparked a crucial question within the aviation sector about the crash. Specialists are puzzling over how the fuel switches could have been accidentally flipped during flight, especially since they are intentionally designed to be 'highly reliable' and constructed to prevent unintended activation.

To switch off each lever, it must initially be pulled upward before it can be moved. They're also fitted with protective guard brackets to prevent accidental bumps or contact.

A Canada-based air crash investigator told the BBC: "It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely."

US aviation safety specialist John Cox emphasized: "You can't bump them [the fuel switches that feed the engines] and they move."

According to preliminary findings from investigators, no clear defect has been identified with the Boeing aircraft or its engines, suggesting neither GE, the engine manufacturer, nor Boeing will bear responsibility for the accident.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau report also disclosed the jet was loaded with 54,200kg of fuel, comfortably within 'allowable limits'. Fuel samples collected from the aircraft's refueling process were similarly deemed 'satisfactory'.

The report continued: "The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.

"The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

However, the report falls short of clearly establishing how the switch - normally utilized to start and shut down the engines and typically left on throughout flight - could have shifted to its cutoff position.

The preliminary conclusions center on the alarming finding that the aircraft's engine fuel flow switches were mysteriously shut off after takeoff, causing an evident loss of thrust moments after the plane ascended. In a tragic sequence of events, the commercial jet's emergency power generator seemingly engaged just moments before it crashed to the ground, resulting in the deaths of all but one of the 242 passengers aboard.

The ill-fated Flight AI171 had reached only approximately 625 feet in altitude before crashing into a medical college complex, also claiming lives on the ground.

Despite initial theories, the AAIB's preliminary report has ruled out bird strikes as the cause of dual engine failure, noting there was "no bird activity" near Ahmedabad at the time of the incident.

The report states: "No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall."

The damage evaluation presents a sobering picture; the report indicates: "The Aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire. A total of five buildings were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages."

Describing the aircraft's final moments, the report discloses: "As the aircraft was losing altitude, it initially made contact with a series of trees and an incineration chimney inside the Army Medical Corps compound before impacting the northeast wall of the first building."

The devastation intensified as the aircraft fragmented further while striking additional structures and nearby vegetation.

According to the report: "As the aircraft moved forward, it continued fragmenting and collided with other structures and vegetation. The impact witness marks on the building and airplane indicated a likely nose-up attitude (about 8°) and wings level."

British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor among the 242 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing Dreamliner, remarkably escaping the wreckage despite sustaining injuries.

The final report confirms that he has since provided a statement to investigators.

https://www.aol.com/articles/pilots-five-harrowing-last-words-060000000.html