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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Preliminary report on Air India crash to give peek into jet's final moments
By Allyson Versprille, Siddharth Philip and Julie Johnsson A month after the worst aviation accident in India in decades, authorities are poised to release a preliminary report into the catastrophe, offering the first official clues to what caused the aircraft to plummet back to the ground just 30 seconds after taking off. Investigators have revealed very few details since the Air India accident, and the report also stands to be basic and factual — if previous initial findings are any guide. Authorities are unlikely to draw definitive conclusions or assign blame, as their work continues in the coming months to piece together a complicated puzzle of what happened on the Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner on June 12. What is known is that the aircraft, fully loaded with fuel, quickly lost altitude and slammed into a hostel for medical students, where it exploded, killing all but one of the 242 individuals on board and more than 30 people on the ground. The pilot issued one mayday alert before Flight AI 171 crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad. Videos that have circulated widely of the plane's takeoff and brief time in the air show that 'everything is normal until they don't put in the (landing) gear, and very shortly after the aircraft is losing thrust,' said Bjorn Fehrm, an aerospace analyst and former fighter pilot. What's unusual is that the power loss appears to be simultaneous in both engines — there's no puff of smoke that would indicate a bird strike, or yaw by the aircraft that would be typical if one engine failed first. The 787 Dreamliner and other commercial planes have more than enough power to complete a takeoff on a single engine, and pilots are well-prepared for that event. But as to scenarios where both engines power down simultaneously? 'That's improbable like hell,' Fehrm said. Some potential key factors have begun to emerge, despite a lack of briefings or updates from the local government or India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is leading the probe. Both the cockpit voice and the flight data recorders were retrieved from the wreckage, and their content was extracted by Indian authorities. One particular line of inquiry is the movement of fuel control switches that sit in the center console of the cockpit, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke confidentially because the information isn't yet public. The devices are used to turn fuel supply on and off to two engines made by GE Aerospace. It remains unknown whether the pilots toggled the switches — either inadvertently or intentionally — and when during the flight the movement may have occurred. The detail was first reported by The Air Current, an aviation trade publication. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday preliminary findings indicated the fuel switches were turned off, though it's unclear whether that was accidental or intentional and whether any effort was made to turn them back on, according to people familiar with the situation. A representative for GE Aerospace declined to comment. Boeing referred questions to the AAIB. The National Transportation Safety Board also referred questions to Indian authorities. India's air accident authority didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Aviation accidents are usually caused by multiple factors and investigators are exploring a wide range of aspects related to the crash. So far, investigators also haven't found any evidence that would suggest the crash was caused by a design or mechanical problem with the Boeing aircraft or the GE engines, according to the people familiar with the matter. They pointed to the fact that neither company, nor the US Federal Aviation Administration, has sent out any notices or safety bulletins to operators, which they said would normally occur quickly if an issue that could impact other 787s in operation was identified. The people conducting the probe are also looking at the backgrounds and experience of the pilots — a normal step for this kind of investigation. The aircraft was in the command of captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kunder, who had 8,200 and 1,100 flight hours, respectively, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It's widely assumed that the doomed 787 had a dual engine failure, especially after early evidence indicates that an emergency backup power source, known as the ram air turbine, was deployed. But restarting the engines at the low altitude and speed at which the 787 found itself just seconds after takeoff wasn't feasible, pilots say, meaning that the cockpit crew simply didn't have enough time to bring the engines back to life. John Cox, a former airline pilot who's now chief executive officer of consultancy Safety Operating Systems, said that moving a switch to the cutoff position would shut off fuel supply to an engine. A dual failure would occur if the switches for both engines on the 787 were shifted. 'If you move those switches from run to cutoff, those engines will stop running in literally seconds,' Cox said. A deliberate moving of the switches can't be ruled out, he said. But there are also other possible scenarios, including that one engine failed and the pilot reached down to flip the switch for that engine but instead shifted the switch for the good engine. It wouldn't be the first time this kind of mishap occurred — a Delta Air Lines Inc. pilot in the 1980s mistakenly cut off fuel to the engines of the Boeing 767 he was flying. But in that case he was able to restart them because the aircraft was higher in the sky, avoiding catastrophe. Pilots may also move the fuel switches in response to a dual engine failure. An emergency checklist that pilots need to commit to memory instructs aviators to cycle the fuel switches to cutoff and then back to run in the event of such a failure. Moving the levers to cut off and back on allows the electronic engine control system to reset, according to several pilots who fly the airplane and spoke to Bloomberg.
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Business Standard
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
US airport security may soon drop shoe removal rule for all travellers
TSA's reversal would end a policy that has been for nearly two decades one of the most visible - and criticized - features of the post-9/11 heightened US airport security system Bloomberg By Allyson Versprille and Myles Miller US travellers may soon no longer have to worry about removing their shoes to go through standard airport security checkpoints, a change that will likely speed up screening for airline passengers. The Transportation Security Administration is planning to update its policies to make the change, a move that would extend a benefit already available to individuals who pay for TSA PreCheck to most ordinary travellers, according to people familiar with the matter. TSA's reversal would end a policy that has been for nearly two decades one of the most visible — and criticized — features of the post-9/11 heightened US airport security system. Critics, who've long dismissed the shoe rule as more security theater than actual security, have also faulted the policy for increasing wait times at security checkpoints at American airports. The change would also put the US in line with most other global aviation hubs including the European Union, Dubai, and Singapore, which typically don't require travellers to take off their shoes when going through airport security. The US requirement to remove footwear was made mandatory in August 2006 — following a failed attempt in 2001 by 'shoe bomber' Richard Reid to ignite explosives packed in one of his sneakers on an American Airlines flight. 'TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture,' the agency said in a statement when asked about the policy shift. 'Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.'
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Business Standard
07-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Trump signs order to boost drone security ahead of World Cup, Olympics
Officials say the aim of the orders is to boost US manufacturing and innovation while reducing dependence on foreign rivals like China, which leads the global commercial drone market Bloomberg By Allyson Versprille and Hadriana Lowenkron President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday to bolster US drone capabilities, including strengthening counter-drone tools ahead of major sporting events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics that will be hosted in the country. 'Taking action on airspace security has never been timelier,' Michael Kratsios, the director of White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters Friday, citing the upcoming events that are expected to draw millions of fans to the US. 'The administration is cracking down on unlawful drone use, ordering a federal task force to ensure US control over American skies and prioritizing the detection and identification of drones in real time.' The intention of the three orders, according to officials, is to boost US manufacturing and innovation while decreasing reliance on foreign adversaries, such as China, which dominates the commercial drone market. One executive order to improve counter-drone capabilities establishes the task force, which would review and propose solutions to threats, according to a White House fact sheet. The order also calls for the creation of a national training center to prepare authorities for the World Cup and Olympics and instructs the Federal Aviation Administration to expedite a rule for restricting drone flights near certain facilities, including critical infrastructure, oil refineries, chemical plants and amusement parks. The proposed regulation is already being reviewed by the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. 'Drones are a disruptive technology,' said Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president. 'They have an amazing potential for both good and ill.' A second executive order is intended to promote the US market for new technologies, including drones and air taxis. It directs the FAA to speed up another rule under White House review that would allow companies to fly drones beyond a remote pilot's direct line of sight without having to obtain individual waivers and exemptions. Companies, such as those using drones to deliver packages, have said the rules will make it easier for them to scale up their businesses and expand to more locations. The order also directs federal agencies to give priority to US-manufactured drones, according to a fact sheet. Senior White House officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity before the orders were signed Friday, said the directive was meant to reduce reliance on technology from other countries. While it doesn't ban any specific companies, such as China's Da Jiang Innovations — the world leader in commercial drone sales — it does direct the Commerce Department to begin investigations and regulatory reviews to safeguard the US drone supply chain. That could result in a company being placed on a list that would bar new drones from being able to access US networks, one of the officials said. The National Defense Authorization Act enacted at the end of 2024 mandated reviews of both DJI and Autel Robotics, another Chinese firm, to determine if they pose a national security risk. The Trump administration has expanded restrictions on the transfer of advanced technology to China, including artificial intelligence and jet engine parts — moves that are a key point in trade discussions between the world's two largest economies. According to the Atlantic Council, China controls 90% of the commercial drone market in the US and 80% globally. American companies have struggled to compete, which the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International has said is partly because Beijing subsidizes its domestic companies, allowing them to offer products at prices significantly lower than US counterparts. The third executive order is meant to promote supersonic technology in the US, in part by repealing regulations officials cast as impeding development. That includes directing the FAA to repeal a ban on supersonic flights over land, according to a White House fact sheet. Michael Robbins, the chief executive officer of AUVSI, hailed the orders, saying they 'showcase that drones are critical to American economic strength, national security, and global leadership.'
