Investigators in India are studying the black boxes of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner after recovering them from the aircraft wreckage to ascertain the cause of last week’s plane crash that left at least 270 people dead.
The black boxes will provide cockpit conversations and data related to the plane’s engine and control settings to investigators and help them in determining the cause of the crash.
The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed on a medical college hostel soon after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, while 241 people on board and 29 on the ground were killed in one of India’s worst aviation disaster in decades.
Experts from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are probing the crash with assistance from the U.K., the U.S. and officials from Boeing.
Black box data is crucial
Amit Singh, a former pilot and an aviation expert, said the recovery of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, or black boxes, are crucial to piece together the sequence of events.
The cockpit voice recorder records pilots’ conversation, emergency alarms and any distress signal made before a crash. The plane’s digital flight data recorder stores information related to engine and control settings. Both devices are designed to survive a crash.
“The data will reveal everything,” Singh said, adding that the technical details could be corroborated by the cockpit voice recorder that would help investigators know of any communication between air traffic control and the pilots.
India’s aviation regulatory body has said the aircraft made a mayday call before the crash.
Singh said the investigating authorities will scan CCTV footage of the nearby area and speak with witnesses to get to the root cause of the crash.
Additionally, Singh said, the investigators will also study the pilot training records, total load of the aircraft, thrust issues related to the plane’s engine, as well as its worthiness in terms of past performances and any previously reported issues.
Investigation into the crash could take time
Aurobindo Handa, former director general of India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, said the investigators across the world follow a standard UN-prescribed Manual of Accident Investigation, also called “DOC 9756,” which outlines detailed procedures to arrive at the most probable cause of a crash.
Handa said the investigation into last week’s crash would likely be a long process as the aircraft was badly charred. He added that ascertaining the condition of the black boxes recovered from the crash site was vital as the heat generated from the crash could be possibly higher than the bearable threshold of the device.
The Indian government has set up a separate, high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash and formulate procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future. The committee is expected to file a preliminary report within three months.
Authorities have also begun inspecting and carrying out additional maintenance and checks of Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to prevent any future incident. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet. The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
News
Little Girl Said: “My Father Had That Same Tattoo” — 5 Bikers Froze When They Realized What It Meant
The chrome catches sunlight like a mirror to the past. Ten Harley Davidsons sit parked outside Rusty’s Diner, engines ticking…
My Husband Left Me for a Fitter Woman Because He Said I Was “Too Big.” When He Came Back to Pick Up His Things… He Found a Note That Changed Everything.
When Mark left Emily just two months ago, there were no tears, no apologies, not even a hint of doubt…
The Maid Begged Her to Stop — But What the MILLIONAIRE’S Fiancée Did to the BABY Left Everyone…
The Broken Sound of Silence —Please, ma’am— Grace whispered, her voice cracking mid-sentence. —He’s just a baby. Cassandra didn’t stop….
My Husband Slapped Me in Front of His Mother, Who Simply Sat with an Arrogant Smile — But Our Ten-Year-Old Son Jumped Up, and What He Did Next Made Them Regret Ever Touching Me. It Was a Moment They Would Never Forget…
The slap came so fast I barely had time to blink. The sound cracked around the dining room like a…
I never planned to ruin my own wedding. But the moment I heard his mother scoff, saying: ‘People like you don’t belong here,’ something inside me broke. I threw my bouquet to the ground, tore off my veil, and took my mother’s hand. Gasps erupted behind us as I walked away from a million-dollar ceremony… and perhaps from him, too. But tell me: would you have stayed?
My name is Emily Parker , and the day I was supposed to marry Ethan began like a perfect California dream. The…
I Invited My Son and His Wife Over for Christmas Dinner. I Surprised Him with a BMW and Gifted Her a Designer Bag. Then My Son Smirked Arrogantly and Said: “Mom, My Wife Told Me I Need to Teach You a Lesson. There Will Be No Gifts for You.” My Daughter-in-Law Sat Smiling at My Humiliation. I Slowly Took Out an Envelope and Said: “Perfect. Then I Have One More Gift for the Two of You.” As Soon as He Opened It, His Hands Began to Tremble…
On the morning of December 24th, Elena Müller, a retired German accountant who had lived in Valencia for years, woke…
End of content
No more pages to load
