Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Expert Says Bird Hit, Engine Or Gear Issues Likely To Be Investigated

By Chanchal Mukherjee

New Delhi: The experts from the Civil Aviation industry said there are several points which will be investigated to ascertain the actual cause of the Ahmedabad plane crash, which claimed 241 lives. The sole survivor is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"Discussing the issue, Capt. CS Randhawa, Civil Aviation expert and President of the Federation of Indian Pilots, told ETV Bharat, 'It is too early to draw any conclusions about the crash of Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. However, certain factors are likely to be investigated, such as a possible bird hit, since many birds often fly in the area, fuel issues, engine technical faults, and landing gear condition."

“Currently, several people in the aviation industry are only speculating about the accident and, as per their information and knowledge, analysing the accident, but facts will come out only after the investigation and decoding the Black Box of the plane,” he said.

“As there was a Mayday call, but it was not a full conversation because the pilot only said Mayday Mayday Mayday, but the rest information is missing, which will be cleared after CVR examination. There are several possibilities which led to the accident, a bird might have hit the plane, or another chance of error, following which the landing gear was on the downside and flaps were upper side,” Randhawa added.

Another Aviation expert and member of the federation on condition of anonymity told ETV Bharat, “Aviation is a very evolving industry, and every 5 or 10 years the technology gets updated, so it is very premature to comment on the accident, but the investigation will clear all the air. So, we should refrain from commenting and making speculations.”

The Aviation department has initiated its investigation with urgency to find the actual cause of the accident.

A day after the accident of Air India flight AI 171 (Ahmedabad-Gatwick), DGCA has directed Air India to carry out the following additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines with immediate effect in coordination with the regional DGCA offices concerned.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a letter outlining a series of mandatory inspections for Air India’s B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines. The inspections include: a one-time check before flight departure from India, effective June 15; inspection of Fuel Parameter Monitoring and associated systems; inspection of the cabin air compressor and related systems; testing of the Electronic Engine Control system; operational testing of the Engine Fuel Drive Actuator along with an oil system check; a serviceability check of the hydraulic system; and a review of take-off parameters. These actions are part of a broader effort to ensure safety following the recent aircraft incident.

“‘Flight Control Inspection’ is to be introduced in transit inspection till further notice, power assurance checks are to be carried out within two weeks, and closure of maintenance action based upon the review of repetitive snags during the last 15 days on B787-8/9 aircraft at the earliest,” it added.

As per the DGCA letter, the report of the checks is to be submitted to DGCA for review and these issues with the approval of the competent authority.

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