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Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Pilots are angry, ground staff is terrified': ‘Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says ‘sab kaand khulenge' post Air India 171 crash, as he exposes aviation industry secrets
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who is better known as Flying Beast online, usually makes family vlogs for his nearly 10 million subscribers. Recently, he appeared on Shark Tank India and pitched his protein business. But, he often posts aviation-related content as well, considering his decade-long experience as a commercial pilot. In recent weeks, Taneja has shared theories about the tragic Air India Flight 171 crash, which resulted in the death of 270 people. Hours after the disaster, he suggested that it could've been caused by a 'dual engine failure'. In recent days, he has also pointed to human error as being one of the reasons behind the crash. In a new interview, however, Taneja explained that human error is caused by a variety of factors that expose the systemic issues with the Indian aviation industry. Appearing on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan podcast, Taneja praised Air India pilots for putting their foot down and demanding pristine aircraft to fly on. He said that pilots were fully aware of the corners that were being cut by airlines prior to the disaster, but had no choice but to follow orders and protocols. Taneja himself was fired from Air Asia a few years ago, after he blew the whistle on certain alleged practices at the airline. In the interview, he said that the ground staff is under such pressure to maintain punctuality that they often ignore issues with the aircraft, requesting pilots to raise their concerns later. Also read – 'Sending Air India 171 black boxes to America is shocking': 'Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says 'Boeing has power', highlights conflict of interest He said, 'Scheduling is a major issue. Someone who has flown all night and hasn't had enough time to recover from fatigue should not be assigned another flight. When an investigation happens, it reveals every detail, such as the culture of an airline, and if they're following regulations about rostering.' Addressing the mass-cancellations of Air India flight following the 171 crash, Taneja said, 'I know that Air India pilots are angry and upset. They know that, at the end of the day, they're the ones in the air. Management is sitting on the ground. Engineers are on the ground. Everyone else is on the ground. They're saying, 'I will not take an okay aircraft. Give me a perfect aircraft to fly'.' Explaining the pressure that airlines put on their employees, Taneja continued, 'A common practice in aviation is for engineers to request pilots not to log complaints. If the complaint is logged, an entire procedure has to be performed. This causes delays. They will tell you that they will okay the aircraft to fly, and ask you to raise the concern at Delhi. They tell you to report 'in-air failures', or that some issue happened after take-off. But everyone knows the truth. This is an endless back-and-forth between pilots and engineers. Companies need to change their ways. They shouldn't take such big risks over one or two minutes.' He said that engineers are under incredible pressure to ensure on-time departures and arrivals. 'They're constantly terrified. They keep worrying about being reprimanded for causing a delay. They keep telling pilots to blame the air traffic control, to tell the company that they received the aircraft on time but were delayed by the ATC. It's not like the company is paying them in crores. They make regular salaries, but they're constantly on edge,' he said, adding, 'Jab audit hota hai, toh khali 171 nahi khulta, sab kaand khulte hain.' Sharing a personal anecdote, Taneja said that he once spotted blood on one of the wings before take-off, and he raised the issue with a ground engineer because he suspected a bird strike. He said that the aircraft's should have been checked thoroughly in that case. He said, 'This happened with me. I was conducting a walk-around, and I saw some blood stains on the wings. It's an obvious sign of a bird strike. The ground staff was like, 'Sir, saaf kar deta hoon, le jao'. I was like, 'Kya baat kar raha hai?' Anything can happen. The flaps could be affected, the engine could be affected. After a point, I stopped doing all this.'
Indian Express
24-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, questions mass-construction around Indian airports, says Air India 171 tragedy could've been averted even if there was jungle land
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who has appeared on television shows such as Shark Tank India and has accumulated around 10 million subscribers online, used to work as a commercial pilot for a decade. He has offered his commentary on the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 270 people. Hours after the crash, he suggested that it could've been caused by a rare 'dual engine failure'. He has since amended his theories to include human error, while also making a point to question systemic issues in the airline industry. He said that the easiest thing to do is to blame the pilots, but that a serious investigation needs to be conducted into some of the more questionable aspects of the industry. In an interview on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan YouTube channel, he also questioned the mass-construction around Indian airports, and said that a major tragedy is waiting to happen in cities like Mumbai, where huge populations reside mere metres from the airport perimeter. During the interview, he said that the doomed aircraft could've been saved if the pilots had open space to conduct an emergency landing. Describing the probability of a dual engine failure as 'one in a trillion', he said that he has no recollection of anything like this ever happening in the past. Also read – 'Sending Air India 171 black boxes to America is shocking': 'Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says 'Boeing has power', highlights conflict of interest Addressing the issue of construction around airports, he said that loss of life could've been avoided had there even been trees and farmland. 'A lawyer who is handling my case also, he has filed a lot of PILs. He says that there are a lot of buildings which should not be there. The Airports Authority of India has given permissions left, right, and centre. Land is expensive in Mumbai, and nobody wants to waste empty land. You won't see this in any other country, that there are buildings immediately after the perimeter wall. But nobody wants to pick fights with builders.' Speaking about the Ahmedabad crash, he said, 'Even if there were no buildings, and there was some sort of jungle, the trees would've absorbed the impact. The aircraft would've been damaged, there would have been damage to the landing gear and the wings, but there would've been less loss of life. There is a procedure for crash landings. We practice it.' He said that most pilots anyway plot emergency landings during flights. 'If you're flying for 10 hours, what else do you do? You look at your map and you look outside, and calculate how long it would take you to reach the nearest airport in case an engine fails,' he said. He said that the only conclusion he can come to is that one engine failed on the runway, after the point of no return, and that the second engine was erroneously switched off by the pilots, because of the first engine's unexpected failure and the longer-than-usual liftoff distracted them. Reminding people that pilot error is caused by a variety of behind-the-scenes factors, he said that Indian airlines have a history of cutting corners. 'These are such beautiful machines, they don't fail just like that. They must've been taken advantage of. There must've been a human factor, things must've gone wrong at the airport, there must've been a long history of scheduling and management issues. A lot of things must've gone wrong for something like this to happen,' he said.
News18
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- News18
‘Pathetic State': What A Pilot Told YouTuber Gaurav Taneja About Airlines Ignoring Safety Measures
Last Updated: Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, opened up about the real reasons behind the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad. YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, also known as Flying Beast, lauded the Air India pilots for refusing to fly unsafe aircraft after the unfortunate crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. Contrary to this, the ex-pilot revealed that airlines habitually overlooked the safety measures, resulting in such tragic incidents. He ruled out bad weather as one of the significant reasons behind the incident and went on to explain the loopholes of the airlines. In a well-informed video on his YouTube channel, Taneja highlighted the safety standards in the Indian aviation industry while addressing various theories about the tragic Air India Flight 171 crash. He said the dual-engine failure was possibly the only reason the Air India flight crashed. 'In the event of bad weather, the aircraft warns the pilots to either delay takeoff or abort takeoff… A 787 has two radars, one on the left and one on the right. For dispatch, it is necessary for at least one to be functional," he said. He continued, 'If the aircraft has 100 pieces of equipment, the rulebook says that it can function even if 30 of them have failed. For instance, an aircraft can fly safely with even one functional weather radar. This is made to operationally assist the airline," further mentioning, 'Let's go with the theory that one engine failed on the ground and the other failed after takeoff… This theory makes a little sense. But this is extremely rare. I've been researching for so many days, and it still doesn't make full sense." The former commercial pilot also threw light on Boeing's close battle with Airbus and revealed how the duo have been constantly taking ahead the entire fleet. 'Airbus took the lead after the launch of the A320. To compete with them, Boeing unveiled the 737 Max, and decided that pilots can safely fly the aircraft with just a two-hour iPad training," he stated. However, according to Taneja, the airlines often neglect to inform pilots about the MCAS system (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), a flight control system developed by Boeing, specifically for the 737 MAX aircraft, which was designed to enhance the aircraft's stability and wondered what if a different software issue could have caused the Air India crash. Further, highlighting the safety standards of the airlines, he said, 'A pilot told me that aircraft are in a pathetic state. Remember I told you about the MELs (Minimum Equipment Lists), and that a plane can fly with even one working radar? These snags are quite common. Every flight has snags. But they have a habit of overlooking these snags." Watch the video here: He went on narrating, 'The on-ground engineer will tell you that they are giving a temporary okay, they know, and the airline knows that the snag will appear during the flight. For every snag that happens, a live report goes to the company. The company knows everything. The company is okaying these snags despite knowing about them, and leaving it to the pilot to deal with these snags during the flight," and puts direct blame on the internal conflicts between the internal departments, which ultimately results in such a situation. At least 274 people, including 241 of the 242 onboard the London-bound Air India flight, died when the Dreamliner 787-8 crashed moments after take-off in Ahmedabad. First Published: June 21, 2025, 18:12 IST
Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Flying Beast freezes as he simulates Air India Flight 171 crash: ‘All you can do is watch the ground come at you'
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, suggested that overloading might be one of the reasons behind the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 270 people. In a new video posted on his YouTube channel, which has nearly 10 million subscribers, he simulated the crash under different settings, and debunked several theories around it. At first, he had suggested that a dual engine failure could be the only reason behind a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashing in the manner that Flight 171 did. In the new video, he seemed to point in the direction of pilot error, combined with several other issues. Carrying out further analysis of the dual engine failure theory, he conducted a simulation. 'I was fixated on this reason until today evening. In the sim, everything was falling into place. After takeoff, we killed both engines at 100 feet,' he said, adding that he made the aircraft 'a little heavy'. He said, 'Usually, this aircraft is 62 tonnes, but considering that it was a long flight to London, I've made it 70 tonnes.' After conducting the first simulation, he said, 'It was scary. I froze. There was nothing that you could do. What could you do? All you can do is pray and watch the ground come at you.' Also read – Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, reveals 'every flight has snags' but airlines have 'habit' of ignoring safety issues Citing the video of the crash, he said that the aircraft's nose seemed to tilt up in the moments ahead of the crash, which suggests that the pilot made a last-ditch effort to pull up. 'It's very scary. You have 10 seconds, basically. You can do nothing. You pull the nose up to avoid a heavy impact, and perhaps save a few lives on the ground. It fell like a rock on the ground,' he said. He conducted another simulation with an even heavier aircraft, and discovered that, like Flight 171, it didn't take off at the normal stage. 'I was terrified, I could see the runway about to end. 'Because of the late liftoff, the pilots' were too distracted to pull the landing gear up,' he speculated. In the same video, Taneja suggested that the pilots aboard the aircraft might've been startled when the first engine failed during takeoff, and were left with no choice but to proceed because the engine failure happened after the point of no return on the runway. Once the aircraft was airborne, they mistakenly killed the second engine, and forgot to pull the landing gear up. Previously, Taneja had defended the pilots against any criticism, saying that they are the easiest people to blame in such events, because they aren't around to defend themselves. He has also said that both engines of a Boeing 787 failing is practically unheard of. He said, 'They were distracted. They were supposed to pull up the landing gear at around 100 feet. Now, listen carefully. They climbed for 100-150 feet with a damaged engine, and forgot to pull the landing gear up. In the Boeing 787, pilots are required to follow 'memory items' in the event of an engine failure. When they hit 400 feet, the pilot 'flying' pulled the thrust idle switch for the faulty engine, and the pilot 'monitoring' pulled the fuel control switch off for the wrong engine… One engine was damaged on the ground, the other engine they killed themselves.' In the wake of several flight cancellations following the Flight 171 disaster on June 12, Taneja praised pilots for putting their foot down and refusing to fly potentially unsafe machines. On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered immediate action against three senior Air India officials following 'serious and repeated violations,' the Hindustan Times reported.
News18
18-06-2025
- General
- News18
Gaurav Taneja Lauds Air India Pilots For Refusing Unsafe Flights: 'DGCA Should Step In'
Last Updated: It should be noted that Gaurav Taneja is also a former pilot, who has been vocal with regard to aviation safety issues. YouTuber Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday and praised Air India pilots who are now refusing to fly aircraft, which are considered unsafe. Gaurav talked about the precautionary steps after the plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 and urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to step in. 'Lot of Air India flights getting cancelled recently due to technical snags, after the 12th June accident. Pilots hopefully have stopped accepting the aircraft's with so many MEL's each flight. It increases their workload immensely," the YouTuber wrote. 'Everyone knows that the 'Red" airline is being dispatched on minimum equipment's. 90+ MEL's every flight. DGCA should step in and stop this," he added. Lot of Air India flight getting cancelled recently due to technical snags, after the 12th June hopefully have stopped accepting the aircraft's with so many MEL's each flight. It increases their workload knows that the 'Red" airline is…— Gaurav Taneja (@flyingbeast320) June 17, 2025 It should be noted that Gaurav Taneja is also a former pilot who has been vocal with regard to aviation safety issues. He flew for IndiGo Airlines before pursuing a career in social media. His YouTube channel, '74th Squadron," offers aviation-related content, including pilot lifestyle, industry issues, and behind-the-scenes stories. For the unversed, on June 12, Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (VT-ANB), crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The incident resulted in the death of 241 out of the 242 people on board, leaving only one survivor. Air India confirmed the accident in an official statement on X and wrote, 'UPDATE: Air India confirms that flight AI171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on 12 June 2025, was involved in an accident. The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew. The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital." After the incident, several of Air India's flights have been diverted or cancelled.
