Bahrain To Experience Typical Summer Weather
According to the Meteorological Directorate, wind speeds are expected to ease during the holiday period. Winds will generally be light and variable in direction, though they may occasionally become moderate during daytime hours.
In recent days, Bahrain and the wider Arabian Gulf have experienced strong northwesterly winds, sometimes reaching severe levels. This was due to the seasonal extension of the Indian monsoon low-pressure system, which affects the region during this time of year. This system typically brings about dominant northwesterly winds, locally known as Barah winds.
The Meteorological Directorate advises residents and visitors to remain updated on weather conditions during the festive period and to take necessary precautions during peak afternoon hours.
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Bahrain To Experience Shifting Weather Patterns
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On June 12, a catastrophic event shook the nation when Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed moments after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The tragedy claimed the lives of 241 of the 242 passengers aboard and 19 individuals on the ground at a medical college hospital where the aircraft plummeted. From the outset, suspicion has swirled around the pilots as the cause of the disaster. Initial reports suggested that co-pilot Clive Kunther was responsible for the crash. However, in recent days, media narratives have shifted, pinning the blame on Captain Sumit Sabharwal. Speculation, fuelled by sensationalised reporting, claims that Captain Sabharwal, grieving the recent death of his mother, deliberately caused the crash as an act of suicide. These allegations, reportedly based on leaks from agencies such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which are assisting India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), were first carried by The Wall Street Journal. The story, marked by dramatic language, was picked up by The Daily Telegraph and subsequently amplified by Indian media outlets. Indian authorities, however, opted to retain control of the aircraft's black box rather than transfer it to the United States. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has also categorically dismissed these media claims, emphasising that the investigation remains ongoing. This stance appears to reflect wider concerns among those closely monitoring the investigation, including within Boeing and Air India. Who, then, is Captain Sumit Sabharwal? At 54, this unmarried pilot resided with his elderly parents in Powai, Mumbai. His mother passed away recently, leaving behind his 97-yearold father, a former official with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Captain Sabharwal, whose elder sister resides in Delhi with her two children, both pilots, was reportedly preparing to retire to care for his ailing father full-time. Colleagues and friends describe him as a calm, respected individual who, even amidst personal grief, maintained a routine of taking walks with his elderly father. With extensive experience piloting aircraft such as the Airbus A310, Boeing 777 and the 787 Dreamliner, logging between 8,200 and 15,638 hours on the latter, Captain Sabharwal was a seasoned aviator. Yet, media narratives allege that this composed and dedicated professional resorted to suicide, driven by grief over his mother's death and the burden of caring for his aging father. How implausible does this story seem? This rush to judgment, introduced in reports by The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Telegraph, was echoed widely by Indian media over the past two days. Adding fuel to the fire, some commentators, including a pilot named Mohan Ranganathan, have publicly speculated about possible mental health factors, though no formal documentation or diagnosis has been cited in public records. Strikingly, few have questioned why such concerns were never formally documented. Instead, these claims risk shifting the narrative away from systemic or technical issues and toward a pilot who can no longer defend himself. It is worth noting that since 2019, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has faced documented technical and software issues. To attribute the crash of an aircraft, potentially experiencing unresolved maintenance issues, to a pilot's personal tragedy is not only convenient but also deeply troubling. The ease with which some media have embraced this theory, while giving little attention to the aircraft's mechanical record, is alarming. According to official reports, Air India Flight 171 crashed on June 12 at 1:39 PM Indian Standard Time, or 8:09 UTC, just 30 seconds after takeoff. At the moment of impact, the aircraft's maximum speed was recorded at 180 knots. Reports further indicate that the engine start switches were reactivated at 8:08:42 UTC, suggesting that within the brief 30-second window post-takeoff, the aircraft's engines were turned off and then restarted. The apparent cause? The fuel tank switches were found in the 'off' position. The flight's voice recorder captured a critical exchange: one pilot, upon discovering the issue, asked, 'Who turned this off?' to which the other responded, 'Not me.' This conversation, preserved in the retrieved black box, has fuelled a narrative, first raised by The Wall Street Journal and echoed by The Daily Telegraph and Indian media, that Captain Sumit Sabharwal deliberately switched off the fuel supply, causing the crash. The question remains, whom does this narrative serve? Let us now examine the flaws in this theory. Imagine driving a car at 80 kilometres per hour and suddenly shifting it into neutral without braking. The car would continue moving forward for some distance due to inertia, the natural tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion. The same principle applies to an aircraft. In the case of Air India Flight 171, the crash occurred at 1:39 PM IST, moments after the pilots' recorded exchange about the fuel switches. The switches were found off and promptly turned back on, indicating that the pilots noticed the issue when the engines lost the thrust needed to climb. Following standard procedure, they attempted to reboot the fuel switches at 8:08:42 UTC to restart the engines. Tragically, within the next 18 seconds, the aircraft plummeted to the ground. If the engines were restarted at 8:08:42 UTC, they must have been turned off, or become inoperative, prior to that moment. For an aircraft travelling at 180 knots, an immediate crash upon engine cutoff is implausible. Inertia should have allowed it to glide further before descending. The absence of such a glide suggests the fuel switches were turned off while the aircraft was still on the runway, causing the engines to fail shortly after takeoff. Like a kite with a snapped string, the plane briefly soared before crashing and bursting into flames. The pilots' exchange likely occurred during this chaotic sequence. Would a pilot intent on suicide attempt to restart the engines to save the aircraft? The notion seems absurd. Another critical point: the fuel switch in a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (registration VTANB), powered by two General Electric GEnx-1B engines, is not a simple electrical toggle like a light bulb. It is controlled by a sophisticated software system known as the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). When a pilot flips the fuel switch, it sends a request, not a direct command, to the software, which evaluates the request based on operational conditions. In some cases, the system may even prompt the pilot for confirmation before cutting the fuel supply to the engines. These processes unfold in milliseconds. In essence, even if Captain Sabharwal had intended to sabotage the flight, it would have been extremely difficult to bypass the FADEC system to cut the fuel supply and bring down the aircraft. Moreover, the timeline of events suggests there was simply no time for such an act. Since 2019, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been repeatedly affected by software glitches, with Boeing issuing periodic service patches to address them, patches that have often been criticised as inadequate. Meanwhile, Air India faces allegations of negligence in maintaining this aircraft. Whether the reported technical issues, some of which Captain Sabharwal is said to have noted in the logbook, were addressed promptly, or whether the aircraft was overdue for servicing, remains under investigation. Yet, despite these unresolved questions, some media outlets have presented Captain Sabharwal as the primary cause, based on reports that remain unverified. My plea is simple: until the official investigation report is released, we must refrain from tarnishing the memory of a captain who lost his life in this tragedy. The allegations against Boeing and the persistent issues with the Dreamliner's systems could easily warrant another major article. However, for now, the focus must remain on seeking the truth, not perpetuating convenient narratives.
