Latest news with #MinimumEquipmentList
Mint
12-07-2025
- General
- Mint
Air India Ahmedabad crash probe: 5 things to know from the preliminary report
A month after the horrific crash of an Air India Dreamliner at Ahmedabad, the AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) has released its preliminary report to the public. While analysts have been vocal about the preliminary report, the report only dwells over the fact and in most cases does not point to the WHY and HOW of the crash, rather looking at WHAT. The rest is part of the investigation which takes longer. The Annex 13 of Chicago Convention, to which India is a signatory, mandates that states in charge of an investigation must submit a preliminary report to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) within thirty days of the date of the accident. Preliminary reports can be marked confidential and it depends on the investigation state's discretion if they should be made public. ICAO also mandates that the final report should be made publicly available as soon as possible and if possible within twelve months. However, these are advisories and not rules. Recently China is reported to have refused making the crash report of China Eastern flight MU5735 public citing (it could) 'endanger national security and societal stability'. The last two crashes in India have been the Air India Express crash at Kozhikode on 7 August 2020, with the final report submitted on 13th January 2021 and the Mangalore crash on 22 May 2010, when the final report came out in November that year. These two crashes were in the landing phase, while the Air India crash at Ahmedabad was within seconds of lifting off from the runway. The preliminary report throws light on these five things There has been quite a lot of speculation on what were the last words from the pilots of the AI171, with various sources being cited by each one. Turns out the last words were only 'Mayday, Mayday' and the pilots did not speak about loss of power or anything else. The aircraft which crashed, VT-ANB did not have any critical items under MEL or Minimum Equipment List. The entire MEL list was within the timeline limits. In aircraft, a Minimum Equipment List (MEL) is a document that outlines the minimum equipment required for an aircraft to legally operate with certain inoperative systems or components. It allows for safe operation even when some equipment is not fully functional, provided specific conditions are met and the aircraft complies with the MEL's limitations. The MEL is specific to an aircraft type and operator and is derived from a Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) provided by the aircraft manufacturer. Immediately after take off, AI 171's Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF, one after another. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so. The AAIB preliminary report mentions how the fuel cutoff switches again transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN with efforts made to relight the engine, one after another. As per the EAFR (Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder), the Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN within seconds of pilots talking about cut-off. The APU Inlet Door began opening thereafter, consistent with the APU Auto Start logic. Thereafter the Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from CUTOFF to RUN. When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is inflight, each engine's full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction. The EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) was observed to be rising for both engines indicating relight. Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery. The preliminary report on Air India plane crash does not point to any recommendations for either Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane type or GE, the manufacturer of the engines which powered the plane. With the preliminary report out, the focus will shift on what led to the movement of switches of the Air India AI171 plane that crashes moments after take-off in Ahmedabad. If it was manual, why did that happen and which of the two pilots did it along with ways to ensure this does not repeat again. Both the government and Air India have been criticised for the way the crash was handled. From a single press conference and lack of regular briefings to suspense over where the Black box is and the time taken to get it from Ahmedabad to Delhi, a lot could have been handled professionally. The airline on the other hand started on the wrong foot with the speech from the Chief Executive Officer being accused of plagiarism from the American Airlines incident earlier this year.
Hindustan Times
18-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Gaurav Taneja praises Air India pilots for refusing unsafe flights after Ahmedabad crash
Amid a recent spate of Air India cancellations following the Ahmedabad plane crash, content creator Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, has praised the pilots for taking a firm stance by refusing to fly aircraft they considered unsafe. Also read: Varun Grover feels Air India has fixed its 'chalta hai' attitude after Ahmedabad crash: 'Someone put their foot down' As a ripple effect following the Ahmedabad plane crash, several other Air India flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gaurav took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the precautionary step that the pilots are taking. Reacting to the several cancellations, Gaurav wrote, 'Lot of Air India flight 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'. '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,' added the content creator, referring to the Minimum Equipment List, which is 'a categorised list of on-board systems, instruments and equipment that may be inoperative for flight in a specified aircraft model'. On Tuesday, Gaurav had posted a video defending the pilots involved in the Air India Flight 171, which crashed in Ahmedabad. He said that it is easier for airlines to claim insurance if they pin the blame on the pilots, who aren't there to defend themselves, stressing the pressure that airlines put on pilots in India. In the aftermath of the devastating Ahmedabad plane crash, Air India has experienced a series of flight disruptions, with multiple flights being diverted or cancelled. On Monday alone, at least three 787 Dreamliners operated by major airlines -- British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air India -- made emergency returns to their departure airports shortly after takeoff. On June 12, a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into a hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 passengers and crew. On Tuesday, flight AI 143 from Delhi to Paris was cancelled after the pre-flight checks revealed certain issues in the aircraft. An Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight (AI 159) was cancelled due to the unavailability of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.
Indian Express
18-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Amid 13 Air India 787 cancellations, Gaurav Taneja lauds pilots for putting their foot down and ‘refusing to accept' unsafe aircraft
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who's known as Flying Beast online, posted a short video on Tuesday defending the pilots involved in the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which left over 250 individuals dead. He said that it is easier for airlines to claim insurance if they pin the blame on the pilots, who aren't there to defend themselves. He'd previously debunked theories that suggested human error led to the crash, saying that in his opinion, it was a rare 'dual engine failure' that likely caused it. He'd also spoken about the pressure that airlines put on pilots in India. As the dual engine failure theory gains steam amid the ongoing investigation into the crash, several other Air India flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday. Reacting to the mass cancellations, Taneja wrote on X, 'Lot of Air India flight 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. 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's referring to the Minimum Equipment List, which is 'a categorised list of on-board systems, instruments and equipment that may be inoperative for flight in a specified aircraft model.' Also read – After defending deceased pilots, Gaurav Taneja suggests overloading caused Air India Flight 171 crash: 'Airlines earn maximum money from cargo' In his short video posted on Tuesday, Taneja had said that overloading of the aircraft might have caused an issue. Citing video of the crash, and data made available online, he said that the Air India Flight 171 took longer to take off than it should have, and said that several airlines overload aircraft with cargo to earn extra money. 'The aircraft is overloaded because airlines earn maximum money from cargo, and they report less cargo on paper but actually they overload the aircraft. Was that the reason behind the crash?' He also mentioned a flight from Tel Aviv that met with an accident due to an error in recording cargo weight. He concluded the video by saying, 'More details are awaited, we will update you soon' Lot of Air India flight 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. . Everyone knows that the 'Red' airline is… — Gaurav Taneja (@flyingbeast320) June 17, 2025 On Monday, he had defended the deceased pilots against blame. In a video, he said, 'It's very easy to blame the pilots when they are not there to defend themselves. Boeing and Air India both are big companies so leave them and let's blame the pilot. Also, it gets easy to claim insurance if you blame it on the pilot. That is one more reason for big companies to not take it on themselves. Americans think Indian pilots aren't very competent but that's not the case.' Looks like earlier they were flying with minimal checks, 'chalta hai' attitude but are not taking risks anymore. So the same flight with same number of tech issues would have been airborne a few weeks ago but someone has put their foot down finally. Hope they improve their… — वरुण 🇮🇳 (@varungrover) June 17, 2025 Writer-director-lyricist Varun Grover also spoke about safety issues in a post on X, writing, 'Looks like earlier they were flying with minimal checks, 'chalta hai' attitude but are not taking risks anymore. So the same flight with same number of tech issues would have been airborne a few weeks ago but someone has put their foot down finally. Hope they improve their baseline safety and maintenance and if that means cancelling most flights for the next few months, totally a financial risk worth taking.' After the Flight 171 crash last week, more than 80 flights have been cancelled for various reasons. Air India cancelled 13 Boeing 787-operated AI flights on Tuesday.
