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7NEWS
16-06-2025
- General
- 7NEWS
What does an investigation into a major crash look like?
As the world reels from the devastating plane crash in India, everyone is left asking: How does this happen? And what happens next? While rescue teams on the ground are saving lives and retrieving the dead, a whole different yet crucial process begins in the background — the crash investigation. Australian aviation consultant and Managing Director of Aviation Projects Keith Tonkin has shed light on how officials around the globe deal with these tragedies. 'The very first steps are to conduct the rescue and recovery operation,' Tonkin told After these first steps, a complex investigation procedure begins — one that often spans continents, years of research, and ultimately influences the course of aviation safety. Who examines a crash? Under international aviation law, the country where the accident occurred is responsible for carrying out the investigation. In the case of the Air India crash, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is undertaking the investigation. Other countries are introduced based on their association with the event — for example, where the aircraft was built or designed, or whether there were large numbers of victims from another country. 'In the India crash, the United States will be involved because the aircraft was manufactured there,' Tonkin said. 'The UK is also participating because some passengers were British nationals.' What do they look for? Investigators use a combination of physical wreckage, electronic data, and human records to understand what happened during the incident. This includes: The black box — which is actually orange in colour — with flight data and cockpit audio The position of key components — if landing gear was deployed or engines were producing thrust Maintenance records, pilot training logs, and flight dispatch notes Environmental conditions like weather, wind, and visibility Video or audio information recorded by witnesses or onboard systems 'They'll look at physical evidence, witness remarks or telltale signs from the state of the physical aircraft, the engines to see if the engines were generating thrust or not, voice recorder and the flight data recorder that will have data on a number of different parameters of the aircraft for some time prior to the accident,' Tonkin said. How long does it take? These investigations are complex — involving global cooperation, technical reconstruction, and typically grieving families looking for answers. 'Probably expect one and a half or two years to get the full report, but there'll be preliminary results released in a few weeks,' Tonkin said. These preliminary reports can have a bearing on short-term safety suggestions, but it requires the full report to reveal the full picture. Could this ground other planes? When investigators discover a systemic safety risk, the regulators can choose to ground all planes of the model temporarily. That was done with the Boeing 737 MAX in 2019, following two deadly crashes linked to faulty software. 'If there's a systemic issue that relates to a particular aircraft type that needs to be resolved straight away, and that is a real important safety issue, then they will ground the fleet,' Tonkin said. In Australia, Virgin Australia and Bonza operate the Boeing 737 MAX. Its employment has been certified by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), and it is regularly monitored for worldwide incidents. Can crashes change world aviation? Yes. Most of the most significant developments in aviation safety — from enhanced cockpit alerts to stricter maintenance schedules — were born out of tragedy. 'They can all be influenced by the results of these investigations,' Tonkin said. If an accident reveals shortcomings in the design, maintenance or operation of an aircraft, lessons are shared worldwide. The International Civil Aviation Organisation allows worldwide rule changes to prevent future catastrophes. What about the airline? Restoring confidence may be a difficult and lengthy process for the participating carrier — in this case, Air India. 'People will be rightfully concerned about hopping on another aircraft,' Tonkin said. Tonkin said that the airline has to 'double down on responding to whatever the findings are from the investigation' and take measures to prevent a repeat. Each crash has long-term consequences for passengers, airlines, regulators, and the global flying public. These investigations don't just tell us what went wrong — they make sure it doesn't happen again.
News18
13-06-2025
- General
- News18
Air India Plane In Ahmedabad Crash Had Flown To Paris, Other Foreign Cities This Month
Last Updated: The plane with registration number VT-ANB was supposed to return from London today and land in Goa. It was to then fly to Delhi today. The ill-fated Air India aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, had flown to several international destinations this month, including Melbourne, Paris, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Zurich, Milan and Amsterdam. These were long-haul flights like the one headed to London on Thursday from Ahmedabad. The aircraft took 19 flights this month itself, including multiple trips to Paris. The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is a mid-size, twin-engine, wide-body jet airliner. The plane with registration number VT-ANB was supposed to return from London today and land in Goa. It was to then fly to Delhi today. The last successful flight that this aircraft took was from Delhi to Ahmedabad on the morning of July 12. Before this, this aircraft had flown from Delhi to Paris and back on June 11. On June 9-10, this aircraft had flown the Delhi-Tokyo sector and the Delhi-Melbourne Sector on June 8. On June 7, this aircraft had flown the Delhi-Paris sector again, and on June 6, the flight had flown the Delhi-Frankfurt sector. On June 5, the flight had flown the Delhi-Paris sector as well. The aircraft took a break on June 4. On June 3, the aircraft flew from Delhi to Milan, Italy, and back. On June 2, this aircraft flew the Delhi-Zurich sector, and the Delhi-Amsterdam sector on June 1. Daily Mail reported quoting an Aviation Projects managing director Keith Tonkin that investigations into the crash would be needed to determine whether there was a technical fault with the plane that was present during the Melbourne journeys. Hours after the tragic crash, the authorities found the black boxes that will help in revealing what triggered the accident. The black box was seized by the NSG on Thursday. Air India confirmed that 241 on board the doomed flight on Thursday had died while only one passenger survived. The plane crashed into a medical college hostel mess area in Ahmedabad, resulting in fatalities on the ground too. A total of 265 bodies, including medical students, were taken to the city's civil hospital till late Thursday night, a police official told news agency PTI. The postmortem of all the bodies was completed, and preparations were underway to preserve them. The pilot, co-pilot, and one crew member have been identified. The bodies of 10 medical students have also been identified. First Published: June 13, 2025, 09:27 IST
