Plane Seen Flying Erratically Before Fatal Crash in Boca Raton
The Cessna 310R took off from Boca Raton Airport and was heading to Tallahassee International Airport when it came down in the area of North Military Trail and Glades Road.
Aircraft tracker Flightradar24 said flight tracking data indicated that plane had been 'trying to return' to Boca Raton Airport 'shortly after takeoff' when the crash occurred. Credit: Brianna Lavrich via Storyful
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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Why cockpit audio deepens the mystery of Air India crash
Investigators have uncovered a chilling discovery in the preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash which killed 260 people in June. Just seconds after takeoff, both the 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position, starving the engines of fuel and triggering total power loss. Switching to "cut-off" is a move typically done only after landing. The cockpit voice recording captures one pilot asking the other why he "did the cut-off", to which the person replies that he didn't. The recording doesn't clarify who said what. At the time of takeoff, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring. The switches were returned to their normal inflight position, triggering automatic engine relight. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining thrust while the other had relit but had not yet recovered power. Air India Flight 171 was airborne for less than 40 seconds before crashing into a crowded neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, marking one of India's most baffling aviation disasters. Investigators are probing the wreckage and cockpit recorders to understand what went wrong just after takeoff. The Air India flight climbed to 625 feet in clear weather before losing location data 50 seconds in, per Flightradar24. Saturday's 15-page report offers early insights. The investigation - led by Indian authorities, with experts from Boeing, GE, Air India and Indian regulators, alongside participants from the US National Transportation Safety Board and the UK - also raises a number of questions. Investigators say the lever-lock fuel switches are designed to prevent accidental activation - they must be pulled up to unlock before flipping, a safety feature dating back to the 1950s. Built to exacting standards, they're highly reliable. Protective guard brackets further shield them from accidental bumps. "It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely," a Canada-based air accidents investigator, who wanted to remain unnamed, told the BBC. That's what makes the Air India case stand out. Air India crash report live updates Fuel to engines cut off before Air India crash, preliminary report says Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash? "It does beg the question: why did the pilot, any pilot, actually push the switches to the off position," Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University, said. "Was it intentional, or the result of confusion? That seems unlikely, as the pilots reported nothing unusual. In many cockpit emergencies, pilots may press the wrong buttons or make incorrect selections - but there was no indication of such a situation here, nor any discussion suggesting that the fuel switches were selected by mistake. This kind of error doesn't typically happen without some evident issue," he told the BBC. Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the US's NTSB, echoed a similar sentiment: "The finding is very disturbing - that a pilot has shut off the fuel switch within seconds of flying." "There's likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than what's been shared. A lone remark like 'why did you cut off the switches' isn't enough," he said. "The new details suggest someone in the cockpit shut those valves. The question is, who, and why? Both switches were turned off and then restarted within seconds. The voice recorder will reveal more: was the flying pilot trying to restart the engines, or the monitoring one?" Investigators believe the cockpit voice recorder - with audio from pilot mics, radio calls and ambient cockpit sounds - holds the key to this puzzle. "They haven't identified the voices yet, which is crucial. Typically, when the voice recorder is reviewed, people familiar with the pilots are present to help match voices. As of now, we still don't know which pilot turned the switches off and back on," said Mr Goelz. In short, investigators say what's needed is clear voice identification, a full cockpit transcript with labelled speakers, and a thorough review of all communications from the moment the plane was pushed back from the gate to the time it crashed. They also say this underscores the need for cockpit video recorders, as recommended by the NTSB. An over-the-shoulder view would show whose hand was on the cut-off switch. Before boarding Flight 171, both pilots and crew passed breathalyser tests and were cleared fit to fly, the report says. The pilots, based in Mumbai, had arrived in Ahmedabad the day before the flight and had adequate rest. But investigators are also zeroing in on what they describe is an interesting point in the report. It says in December 2018, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) highlighting that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged. While the issue was noted, it wasn't deemed an unsafe condition requiring an Airworthiness Directive (AD) - a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in a product. The same switch design is used in Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including Air India's VT-ANB which crashed. As the SAIB was advisory, Air India did not perform the recommended inspections. Mr Pruchnicki said he's wondering whether there was a problem with the fuel control switches. "What does this [bit in the report] exactly mean? Does it mean that with a single flip, that switch could shut the engine off and cut the fuel supply? When the locking feature is disengaged, what exactly happens? Could the switch just flip itself to off and shut down the engine? If that's the case, it's a really serious issue. If not, that also needs to be explained," he said. Others, however, aren't convinced this is a key issue. "I haven't heard of this which appears to be a low-profile FAA issuance. Nor have I heard any complaints [about the fuel switches] from pilots - who are usually quick to speak up. It's worth examining since it's mentioned, but it may just be a distraction," said Mr Goelz. Capt Kishore Chinta, a former investigator with India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), wonders whether the switches tripped because of a problem with the plane's electronic control unit. "Can the fuel cut-off switches be triggered electronically by the plane's electronic control unit without movement by the pilot? If the fuel cut-off switches tripped electronically, then it's a cause for concern," he told the BBC. The report says fuel samples from the refuelling tanks were "satisfactory". Experts had earlier suggested fuel contamination as a possible cause of the dual engine failure. Notably, no advisory has been issued for the Boeing 787 or its GE GEnx-1B engines, with mechanical failure ruled out for now pending further investigation. It also said that the aircraft's Ram Air Turbine (RAT) had deployed - a clear sign of a major systems failure - and the landing gear was found in "down position" or not retracted. The RAT, a small propeller that extends from the underside of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, acts as an emergency backup generator. It automatically deploys in flight when both engines lose power or if all three hydraulic systems register critically low pressure, supplying limited power to keep essential flight systems operational. "The deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) strongly supports the conclusion that both engines had failed," Mr Pruchnicki said. A Boeing 787 pilot explained why he thought the landing gear was not retracted. "These days, every time I take off in a 787, I notice the landing gear retraction process closely. By the time the gear handle is pulled, we're already at about 200ft (60.9m), and the entire gear retraction process completes by around 400ft - roughly eight seconds in total, thanks to the aircraft's high-pressure hydraulic system." The pilot believes the one flying had no time to think. "When both engines fail and the aircraft starts going down, the reaction goes beyond just being startled - you go numb. In that moment, landing gear isn't your focus. Your mind is on one thing: the flight path. Where can I put this aircraft down safely? And in this case, there simply wasn't enough altitude to work with." Investigators say the crew tried to recover, but it happened too fast. "The engines were switched off and then back on. The pilots realised the engines were losing thrust - likely restarting the left one first, followed by the right," said Mr Pruchnicki. "But the right engine didn't have enough time to spool back up, and the thrust was insufficient. Both were eventually set to "run", but with the left shut down first and the right too late to recover, it was simply too little, too late."
CBS News
25-06-2025
- CBS News
American Airlines flight returns to Las Vegas airport after flames, smoke come from engine midair
An American Airlines flight returned to Las Vegas' airport Wednesday morning after flames and smoke came from one of its engines midair, officials said. The plane landed safely and no injuries were reported. American Airlines Flight 1665 took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for Charlotte, North Carolina, at around 8:11 a.m. local time, according to Flightradar24, a flight-tracking website. An airport spokesperson said that smoke came from its left engine after takeoff. Videos posted to social media showed smoke and flames coming from the engine while it was in flight. The plane then returned to the airport around 8:20 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. American Airlines said that an inspection by a maintenance team found no evidence that the engine caught fire. "The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally," the airline said in a statement. "We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible." American said 153 passengers and six crew members were on board at the time of the incident. The plane, an Airbus A321, was being taken out of service to be evaluated. The FAA will investigate the incident, the agency said. , and contributed to this report.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Yahoo
Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270
Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad. The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members, a 40-year-old British man. Officials have also been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities. Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK. About 100 people gathered outside the High Commission of India in London on Sunday, with many laying candles in memory of those who died in the crash. One community leader said they had been in touch with a family who had flown to India to identify the remains of their loved ones and were waiting in hospital for the results of DNA matching. Many people at the gathering want answers on how and why the incident could have happened, the community leader said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the inquiry into the cause of the crash, helped by teams from the US and UK. On Friday, a black box was found at the site of the crash which India's civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said would "significantly aid the inquiry" into the disaster. Less than 60 seconds after leaving Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the plane lost altitude and crashed into a building that was used as doctors' accommodation at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital. On Saturday, the President of the Junior Doctors' Association of the college, Dr Dhaval Gameti, confirmed the hospital had received the bodies of 270 victims. Of those, 241 are believed to be passengers and crew of Flight AI171. More than thirty victims have also been formally identified using DNA samples provided by relatives. According to data by tracking website, Flightradar24, the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 was 11 years old and had operated 25 flights from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick in the past two years. In response to Thursday's crash, India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered additional safety checks on Air India's Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, describing it as a "preventive measure". India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around 20 minutes walking around the site of the plane crash on Friday. He also visited the hospital to meet some of those injured in the disaster, including the sole plane survivor Vishwashkumar Ramesh, later saying that "the entire nation is praying for their speedy recovery". Air India CEO Campbell Wilson also went to the crash site on Friday and described the visit as "deeply moving". Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash? Newly engaged couple among Air India crash victims Wait for bodies deepens pain of families after Air India crash
