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First Post
11 hours ago
- Business
- First Post
Air India crash: How to spin-doctor and peddle narratives, the Western way
Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore used to terrorise villainous Western media by suing them in his courts. They learned to toe the line read more There has been a virtual masterclass lately in the creation and dissemination of biased narratives. Not only in the case of the ill-fated Air India 171 (Boeing 787, June 12, 2025) that crashed, but also in some other, unrelated instances. The age-old practices of 'truth by repeated assertion' and 'dubious circular references' as well as 'strategic silence' have all been deployed in full force. The bottom line with the Air India flight: there is reasonable doubt about whether there was mechanical/software failure and/or sabotage or possible pilot error. Any or all of these caused both engines to turn off in flight. But the way the spin-doctors have spun it, it is now 'official' that the commanding pilot was suicidal and turned off the fuel switch. Boeing, the plane maker, and General Electric, the engine maker, are blameless. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is, alas, not surprising. It is in the interests of Western MNCs to limit reputational damage and monetary loss related to their products. They do massive marketing by unleashing their PR agencies. We also saw how they protect themselves in other instances. A leaked Pfizer contract for their Covid vaccine insisted that if anything happened, it was the user's problem, not Pfizer's: there was no indemnity. Incidentally, a report on July 19 said that the Pfizer Covid vaccine can lead to severe vision problems. Oh, sorry, no indemnity. What is deplorable in the Air India case is that the AAIB, the Indian entity investigating the disaster, chose to release a half-baked preliminary report with enough ambiguity that a case could be (and definitely was) built up against the poor dead pilots. Any marketing person could have read the report and told them that it would be used to blame the pilots and absolve the manufacturers. Besides, the AAIB report was released late night on a Friday, India time, which meant that the Western media had all of one working day to do the spin-doctoring, which they did with remarkable gusto. Meanwhile, the Indian media slept. Whose decision was this? Clearly, Indian babus need a remedial course in public relations if this was mere incompetence. Of course, if it was intentional, that would be even worse. There is a pattern. In earlier air accidents, such as the Jeju Air crash involving a Boeing 737-800 in South Korea in December, the pilots were blamed. In accidents involving Lion Air (Boeing 737 Max 8, 2018), China Airlines (737-200, 1989), Flydubai (737-800, 2016), ditto. I am beginning to believe that a lot of Asian pilots are poorly trained and/or suicidal. Ditto with the F-35 that fell into the ocean off Japan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Truth by repeated assertion is a powerful force for gaslighting the gullible. I wonder what excuses we'll hear about the Delta Airlines Boeing 767 whose engine caught fire in the air after take-off from LAX on July 20. The pilots didn't die, so they will speak up. Besides, they were Westerners. I am eagerly awaiting the spin on this. I also noticed with grim amusement how the BBC, WSJ, Bloomberg, and Reuters, and so on were busy quoting each other to validate their assertions. This is a standard tactic that India's 'distorians' (see Utpal Kumar's powerful book Eminent Distorians) have perfected: B will quote third-hand hearsay from A, then C will quote B, D will quote C, and before you know it, the hearsay has become the truth. But if you wind it back from D to C to B to A it becomes, 'I hear someone told someone that xyz happened.' Out of thin air, then. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There is also the lovely tactic of strategic silence. It has been used to un-person people who ask inconvenient questions. It has also been used to defenestrate inconvenient news. Just days ago, under the Deep State-installed new regime in Syria, hundreds of minority Druze were brutally massacred. There was video on X of armed men in uniform forcing Druze men to jump off tall buildings, and desecrating their shrines. Similarly, there is a brutal reign of terror, rape, murder, and thuggery against Hindus, Buddhists, and others under the Deep State-blessed regime of Mohammed Yunus in Bangladesh: a clear genocide. Neither Syria nor Bangladesh gets any headlines. There are no loud human-rights protests as in the case of Gaza. This is not news. It is un-news. 'Manufacturing Consent' all the way. India is particularly vulnerable to this gaslighting because Indians consume a lot of English-language 'news.' Scholars have long noted how the US public has been maintained in a state of ignorance so they could be easily manipulated. The same is true of the Indian middle class. So, there is yet another reason to do less in English. Fooling, say, the Chinese or Japanese public is a lot more difficult. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The fact is that even though Indians may be literate in English, they do not understand the context and the subtext of what is fed to them by the likes of The Economist, NPR, The Financial Times, The New York Times, etc. The best way I can explain this is the 100+5 analogy in the Mahabharata: they may fight with each other on domestic matters, but Anglosphere and Deep State are in cahoots when it comes to international matters. Things are both getting better and getting worse. On the one hand, social media and its imprint on generative AI mean that it is ever easier to propagate fake news (in addition to deepfake audio and video, of course). On the other hand, despite the problem of charlatans and paid agents provocateurs getting lots of eyeballs, the large number of Indians on social media may push back against the worst kinds of blood libel against India and Indians, of which there's plenty these days, often created by bots from 'friendly' countries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is a serious matter indeed. One solution is to do a version of the Great Chinese Firewall and ban wholesale the worst offenders. Indeed, a few of the vilest handles have been ejected from X. However, the pusillanimity with which notorious Pakistani handles were unbanned, then re-banned after outrage, shows there's something rotten in the Information Ministry. Almost exactly the same as the unbanning of Pakistani cricketers, then rebanning after outrage. Is there anybody in charge? Information warfare is insidious. Going back to the Air India case, I think the families of the maligned pilots should sue for gigantic sums for libel and defamation. The sad state of the Indian judiciary may mean that, unfortunately, this will not go far. However, there is precedent: Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore used to terrorise villainous Western media by suing them in his courts. They learned to toe the line. If this tactic does not work, India should eject the hostile media. The Indian market is increasingly important to Western media (not vice versa) because soon there will be more English-reading consumers in India than in the Five Eyes Anglosphere. I should say that in quotes because as I said above, most Indians are blissfully unaware of the hidden agendas, and naively believe them. But 'Judeo-Christian' culture is very different from dharmic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I keep getting emails from The New York Times with tempting offers to subscribe to them for something really cheap like Rs. 25 a month. They need Indian readers. I have been shouting from the rooftops for years that one of these charlatan media houses needs to be kicked out, harshly, with 24 hours' notice to wind up and leave. As in the Asian proverb, 'Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.' The monkeys will notice, and behave. Otherwise, the information warfare is just going to get worse. The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Pilot 'switched hands on controls' before crashing light aircraft on busy A road
The Grob 109B motorglider aircraft crashed on to a busy A road outside Aston Down airfield in Gloucestershire last summer with the AAIB blaming pilot error A pilot crashed a light aircraft injuring both men on board after confusing his left and right hands, an Air Accident Investigation Branch report has found. The Grob 109B motorglider aircraft crashed on to a busy A road outside Aston Down airfield in Gloucestershire last summer with the passenger suffering significant spinal injuries that left him in hospital for several days. The aircraft owner Christopher Tooze, 70, was flying with someone who according to the report had "a significant profile within the gliding world". Mr Tooze allowed him to take the controls. The AAIB report said "inappropriate control inputs" by the passenger that caused the crash. It read: "The passenger was in the right seat, so for this phase of flight had his right hand on the control column and his left hand on the engine controls." "The passenger stated that he had no intention of trying to land the aircraft. However, he continued to fly through the turn onto final approach with his right hand on the control column. "The intent was to make an approach in gliding mode, with engine at idle power and the rate of descent controlled by the airbrakes. "After the final turn he swapped his left hand to the control column and operated the airbrakes with his right hand. The approach was made at an airspeed of 60-70 kt." The report states that the passenger was sat in the right back seat and should have had his left hand on the control column and right hand on the airbrake. "The pilot made no effort to take control from the passenger nor did the passenger say to the pilot 'you have control'," the report states. The report added: "The pilot was able to get out of the aircraft, but the passenger was extracted by ambulance paramedics." There was no evidence of a technical problem in the Grob, the report confirmed. Although it concluded that "the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair". At the time of the incident in August last year, emergency services were scrambled to help the stricken pair and drivers who had seen the plane come down in front of them. An eyewitness said that it "looked like it stalled and nose dived into the main road". A Gloucestershire Police spokeswoman said at the time that: "Motorists are advised that road closures are in place while emergency services are in attendance. There were two occupants on board who will be assessed by the ambulance service, and it is understood that no other vehicles were involved."
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pilot, 84, and passenger, 78, rushed to hospital after plane crashes and overturns on runway
A pilot and passenger were rushed to hospital after a plane crashed and overturned on a runway. Emergency services arrived at Swansea Airport last week after a 'pilot error' caused the light aircraft to flip. South Wales Police confirmed that both the pilot, an 84-year-old man, and his passenger, a 78-year-old woman, did not suffer serious injuries. Mid and West Fire and Rescue service crews were at the scene for more than an hour. The pair were taken to Morriston Hospital nearby. A spokeswoman for the fire service said: 'At 4.28pm on Saturday, July 19, crews from Swansea west and Swansea central fire stations were called to an incident at Swansea Airport. 'Crews responded to a light aircraft overturned on the runway. 'Two casualties were reported and left in the care of the ambulance service. 'Special Service Core, police and ambulance were also in attendance. Crews left the scene at 5.44pm.' The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed an investigation has been launched. A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: 'Officers attended Swansea Airport on Saturday, 19 July at around 4.30pm following a report of an overturned aircraft. 'Neither the pilot, an 84-year-old man from Sketty, or the passenger, a 78-year-old woman from Reading, Berkshire, have sustained any serious injuries. 'The cause of the crash is believed to be pilot error. No concerns were raised regarding the pilot's fitness to fly.' It comes after a light aircraft crashed after a pilot confused his left and right hands, an investigation has found. The plane was trying to land when it struck trees and crashed on a congested road of cars outside Aston Down airfield in Gloucestershire last August. Both men on the Grob 109B motorglider aircraft were injured with the passenger suffering significant spinal injuries that left him in hospital for several days. The aircraft owner allowed him to take the controls to give him an experience flight. It was 'inappropriate control inputs' by the passenger that caused the crash, the AAIB said.
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Light aircraft crashed after pilot mixed up left and right hands, investigation finds
A light aircraft crashed after a pilot confused his left and right hands, an investigation has found. The plane was trying to land when it struck trees and crashed on a congested road of cars outside Aston Down airfield in Gloucestershire last August. Both men on the Grob 109B motorglider aircraft were injured with the passenger suffering significant spinal injuries that left him in hospital for several days. The aircraft owner Christopher Tooze, 70, was flying with someone who had a 'significant profile within the gliding world' and was a friend of a prospective buyer of the plane. Mr Tooze had allowed him to take the controls to give him an experience flight. It was 'inappropriate control inputs' by the passenger that caused the crash, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has said. Before take-off, he had told Mr Tooze: 'I am not a power pilot'. The AAIB said in their findings: 'The passenger was in the right seat, so for this phase of flight had his right hand on the control column and his left hand on the engine controls,' said the AAIB. The plane was trying to land when it struck trees and crashed on a congested road of cars outside Aston Down airfield in Gloucestershire last August. 'The passenger stated that he had no intention of trying to land the aircraft. However, he continued to fly through the turn onto final approach with his right hand on the control column. 'The intent was to make an approach in gliding mode, with engine at idle power and the rate of descent controlled by the airbrakes. 'After the final turn he swapped his left hand to the control column and operated the airbrakes with his right hand. The approach was made at an airspeed of 60-70 kt.' The committee explained the passenger was sat in the right back seat and should have had his left hand on the control column and right hand on the airbrake. But most are operated with the airbrake in the pilot's left hand and the control column in the right hand. It comes after a pilot inadvertently caused a British Airways plane to catch fire after mixing up his left and right hands during take off. The Boeing 777 jet had been about to take off from Gatwick to Vancouver in June last year, when the co-pilot mistook his right hand for his left and pulled back on the lever operating the aircraft's thrust. This caused the brakes to catch fire and led to a rejected take-off, meaning the pilot was forced to perform a 'high-speed emergency stop' on the runway after reaching speeds of more than 190mph. There was no evidence of a technical problem in the Grob.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Govt pulls up Air India over rising safety issues
The government has begun holding direct meetings with Air India management amid mounting safety incidents, ordering the carrier to maintain the highest safety standards while setting a month-long timeline for reassessing its operations. Govt pulls up Air India over rising safety issues The first such meeting was held on Wednesday, in the midst of week in which an Air India aircraft caught fire at Delhi airport after landing from Hong Kong, a Kolkata-bound flight aborted takeoff due to technical issues, and a Kochi-Mumbai flight veered off the runway during landing in heavy rain. According to one of these people, the 'first meeting was held this evening where the airline gave a detailed explanation of their efforts towards maintaining safety'. The discussions, this person added, 'were held based on the incidents being reported by Air India and Air India Express. The ministry has ordered Air India to maintain highest level of safety standards. It will review the airline's operations after a month.' A second official said additional meetings are expected to focus on reviewing recent incidents and discussing fleet maintenance protocols. The direct government intervention comes amid heightened concerns over passenger safety following the June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171 that killed 260 people and a subsequent surge in technical incidents affecting the Tata-owned carrier. 'The outcome of these discussions will be crucial in restoring passenger confidence and ensuring that the airlines under the Air India group meet the highest safety benchmarks,' an official said. The Boeing 787 crash marked one of aviation's deadliest tragedies in recent years and prompted comprehensive safety reviews. A preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) has identified fuel control switches set to cutoff during takeoff as the main cause of the crash. Why the switches were flipped, or by whom, is now at the heart of the probe. Since that incident, at least 15 other operational issues and serious incidents have been reported involving Air India and its low-cost service arm Air India Express. Both carriers have faced mounting scrutiny over their operational standards. The incidents range from aborted take-offs and emergency returns to runway excursions and auxiliary power unit fires, raising questions about maintenance practices at India's privatised flag carrier. 'The government is expected to emphasise preventive measures and enforce strict adherence to safety and maintenance standards,' another official said. The meetings involve airline executives and senior officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and civil aviation ministry. The regulator may seek detailed reports on maintenance practices, officials said. Following the AAIB's preliminary report that found fuel switches moved from 'run' to 'cutoff' position during the fatal flight's takeoff, the DGCA mandated Air India to inspect fuel control switch locking mechanisms on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft by July 22. Air India completed the inspections within the deadline, reporting no issues with the locking mechanisms. 'Air India had started voluntary inspections on July 12 and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the DGCA. The same has been communicated to the regulator,' the airline said Tuesday. The safety concerns extend beyond Air India, with other carriers also reporting incidents. An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa experienced engine failure last week, though the airline termed it a technical snag. 'The real question is, how can they help mitigate these issues and what steps can they take? No airline management creates technical problems deliberately. Nevertheless, management must exercise greater vigilance,' said Jitender Bhargava, former Air India executive director. Aviation safety expert Amit Singh said the DGCA bears ultimate responsibility. 'They have a state safety plan with performance targets. If they feel that the number of incidents are found beyond the target, they must step in and take corrective action.' On Wednesday, an Air India Express flight from Kozhikode to Doha returned after being airborne for around one hour and 40 minutes due to an engine issue reported by the pilot. An airline spokesperson termed it a technical issue.
