Latest news with #piloterror
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Air India Crash Investigation Honing In On The Cockpit's Engine Fuel Control Switches
It's been nearly one month since Air India Flight 171 plunged into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in India. The crash killed 241 people on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 19 more on the ground, with a single survivor on the aircraft. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is expected to release the crash's preliminary report on Friday. Still, investigators have hinted that pilot error will likely be deemed the cause of the disaster, with a focus on the engine fuel control switches. As much as Boeing has been deservedly maligned for the persistent quality control issues that led to a door plug blowing out of a 737 Max over Portland, the American aviation giant probably won't be found at fault on this occasion. According to the Air Current, the data from the recovered black boxes revealed that no design or mechanical issues impacted the 787 or its pair of GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines during the crash. Investigators also ruled out common theories such as fuel contamination or the flight crew improperly retracting the plane's flaps. Read more: Cars, Trucks And SUVs Most Likely To Last 200,000 Miles Or More, According To Consumer Reports While it will be clear to see from the flight data recorder if the fuel control system was switched from run to cutoff, it will take months to determine why it happened. The pair of switches behind the throttle features a metal stop lock mechanism with the panel itself bounded by brackets. It's set up specifically to prevent the captain or first officer from accidentally clipping a switch with a hand or arm and starving the engine of fuel. The loss of thrust would happen quickly. The increased scrutiny put on Air India has already uncovered worrying practices at the company. Budget subsidiary Air India Express was accused of falsifying safety records by India's civil aviation authority. The carrier claimed to have made required updates to the engines on its Airbus A320neo planes. However, the information submitted to regulators is believed to be fake. The budget airline has also been accused of faking medical records after a pilot died of a heart attack in April after landing a plane. The pilot was found to have an underlying heart condition, something typically identified during a mandatory exam that would disqualify a commercial pilot from service. Tragically, lax standards might have killed hundreds of Air India passengers. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Expert's theory on terrifyingly simple mistake he thinks Air India co-pilot made that caused crash and killed 265
An aviation expert believes the co-pilot on Air India flight AI171 pulled the plane's wing flaps instead of retracting the landing gear, causing the plane to crash. Commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and close calls, gave his theory on the incident which killed 241 people on board. The London -bound 787 Dreamliner began losing height moments after take-off and crashed in a fireball over a residential area in the Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In a video on Thursday night, Steve said there had been an issue in the cockpit when the co-pilot was asked to retract the landing gear. He said: 'Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time. 'I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying.' Steve said that the flaps being raised would cause the flight to lose airspeed and altitude quickly, something he thinks the pilot would have struggled to control. Only one of the 242 people on board survived and as many as 24 people on the ground were also killed in what was the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. It remains unclear what caused Thursday's tragedy, with mechanical failure or pilot error among the possible causes that investigators will now work to identify. Among those believed to have died is Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot operating the Boeing 787. Mr Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, was named as the pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. First Officer Clive Kunder, from Mumbai and who was co-piloting, had logged 1,100 of flying hours and completed his training at the Florida-based Paris Air Flight School. The sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, has since been visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in hospital. Mr Ramesh told DD News, 'I still can't believe how I survived', as he spoke from his hospital bed on Friday. He told the broadcaster the plane felt like it was 'stuck in the air' shortly after take-off before lights began flickering green and white - adding: 'It suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.' He said: 'I still can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. 'But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived.' At least 24 people were killed on the ground, officials said, after the airplane landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch. The flight data recorder was recovered from the wreckage on Friday, in what will likely lead to clues about the cause of the accident. The plane's digital flight data recorder, or black box, was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that it had begun its work with 'full force.' The black box recovery marks an important step forward in the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a social media post.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cause of deadly military helicopter crash near Pine Valley revealed
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The cause of the deadly CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crash near Pine Valley last year was revealed Wednesday. The investigation determined the helicopter crash was due to pilot error, including failure to maintain safe obstacle clearance and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) visibility requirements, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a news release Wednesday. Military officials ruled out material or mechanical failure to the aircraft. Lawsuit filed against Aladdin Mediterranean Café amid ongoing salmonella investigation The incident occurred on Feb. 6, 2024, when the military helicopter crashed into a mountain ridge near Pine Valley during a flight from Imperial County Airfield to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Aboard the flight were Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, Sgt. Alec Langen, Capt. Benjamin Moulton, Capt. Jack Casey and Capt. Miguel Nava. All five Marines were killed in the crash. In November, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing also relieved the HMH-361 Commanding Officer of command 'due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to continue to serve in that position.' 'While the Commanding Officer's actions were not directly causal or contributing factors to the mishap itself, the Commanding General determined that he exhibited poor judgment, and was expected to exercise greater care in the performance of his duties,' military officials said. In response to the investigation, 3rd MAW has implemented multiple recommendations to its policy and training. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Washington Post
Weather and night vision goggles were likely factors in Marine Corps helicopter crash, report finds
WASHINGTON — The crash of a Marine Corps helicopter last year that killed five service members was ultimately caused by pilot error, but the use of night vision goggles and unsafe flying conditions also likely were factors, according to an investigation report obtained by The Associated Press.
Associated Press
07-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Weather and night vision goggles were likely factors in Marine Corps helicopter crash, report finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — The crash of a Marine Corps helicopter last year that killed five service members was ultimately caused by pilot error, but the use of night vision goggles and unsafe flying conditions also likely were factors, according to an investigation report obtained by The Associated Press. The CH-53 Super Stallion crashed Feb. 6, 2024, during a late night flight when it hit a mountain near Pine Valley, California, on its way back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Investigators found that multiple factors likely led to the crash. But as with several previous military aviation accidents, investigators had to make some assumptions because the CH-53 was not equipped with a flight data recorder capable of surviving a crash. The limits of night vision goggles also have been identified as a potential factor in the fatal collision of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet near Reagan Washington National Airport in January that killed 67 people. The goggles can reduce a pilot's ability to determine distance and can be degraded by weather or light pollution. The Marine helicopter was flying in icing conditions with low cloud cover that obscured the mountainous terrain along the flight path. The crew was using night vision goggles, which likely did not give them the clear picture needed to avoid a crash into terrain, investigators found. The precipitation and clouds probably degraded the goggles' performance and possibly gave the crew a false sense that they were maintaining the safe distances needed in the flight, investigators found. The pilot and crew chief 'most likely believed they were operating legally and within their comfort level,' investigators found. Ultimately, though, investigators found that the pilot's failure to avoid the terrain was the primary cause of the crash. They also found that the commanding officer, who was relieved of duty due to a loss of confidence in an ability to lead, should not have given the crew approval to fly. The Super Stallion vanished during the overnight flight on its way back to Miramar from Creech Air Force Base. The helicopter was discovered in the morning near the mountain community of Pine Valley. All five Marines aboard were killed in the crash: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Donovan Davis, 21, of Olathe, Kansas; Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, of Chandler, Arizona; Capt. Miguel Nava, 28, of Traverse City, Michigan; Capt. Jack Casey, 26, of Dover, New Hampshire; and Capt. Benjamin Moulton, 27, of Emmett, Idaho In interviews contained in the report, multiple members of the squadron said that the crews had been stretched thin because their unit had to fly additional missions to compensate for last year's monthslong grounding of the V-22 Osprey fleet.
