An Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed just minutes after taking off in north-western India, killing more than 200 onboard when it came down in a residential neighbourhood
An Air India flight bound for London crashed just minutes after take-off – and there are a number of theories about what caused the horror crash.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, in north-western India, shortly after taking off at about 1:38pm local time on Thursday. It was bound for London Gatwick and due to land at about 6:25pm British time, but crashed in the residential area of Meghani Nagar. Among the 242 passengers onboard were 53 British nationals with Leicester East MP Shivani Raja stating she understands “a handful” were from the city.
More than 200 people are understood to have been killed in the crash, police officer Kanan Desai said. Debris from the plane was scattered across the ground and buildings close to the impact site.
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The tail of the plane was later found perched on top of a building. According to the Aviation Safety Network, this is the first time a 787 has crashed. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, five theories have emerged about what might have happened.
1. Flaps not extended
Aviation enthusiast Jerry Dyer from Big Jet TV said footage might have revealed what caused the deadly crash. Speaking to The Express, he said: “As soon as I saw it I recognised the flap settings straight away, that is the moving part of the wing that extends at the back.
“From that video it seems that they were not extended and that means you do not have enough lift because the flaps increase the size of the wing and give the plane more lift. Without them you will not have any lift. It will take off but do so shallowly and lose altitude and ultimately crash.”
2. ‘Malfunction’
Jerry continued: “That is something that the pilot controls. The pilot inputs the setting before take-off. My biggest concern is I am sure that the systems on these aircraft are sophisticated so the system should shout back at the pilot if wrong.
He added: “Whether it was a malfunction or human error we don’t know. It is not something that you can see as a pilot, you wouldn’t know. “
3. Fears of ‘complete power loss’
Another theory is that the plane might have suffered power loss shortly after take-off. Gaurav Taneja, a pilot-turned-Youtuber, said it looked as though the plane suffered “dual engine failure.”
He later explained: “Nothing short of a complete power loss can force a modern aircraft into that kind of sink rate, right after take off.”
The pilot’s last words might shed more light on the possible cause of the crash. He is reported to have said “engine failure” during the Mayday call to Air Traffic Control.
4. ‘Error in the cockpit’
Aviation analyst Geoffrey Thomas said the position of the wing flaps as it took off was unusual. After studying the footage he said: “The plane simply sank, it didn’t lurch from one side to the other, showing a possible mechanical problem. It looked as though it was coming into land.
“We are not looking at this vision of this 787 that has taken off and now sinking down into a crash, the undercarriage is still down but the flaps have been retracted. Now I am just wondering whether in fact there was some possible error in the cockpit.”
5. Issue with the wings
Marco Chan, a former airline pilot and senior aviation lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University, told the Mirror his theories about what could have caused the crash.
“I understand there are several experts who have identified the fact that the flats or slats on the wings haven’t been extended properly. I can’t really verify that from the footage, but that could be a possibility,” he said.
“It’s like when you put your arms out of your car and if you have your sleeves hanging out as well, and the wind catches your sleeves. More air comes under the lifts up the plane. o without those, the aircraft would have less lift, and, and with those extended properly, the aircraft is able to generate the same amount of lift at a much lower speed. In this case that could be an issue.”
6. Bird strike
A former pilot told Indian news TV channel New Delhi Television the incident appears to involve “multiple bird hits”.
Saurabh Bhatnagar said: “It looks, prima facie, like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power. The take-off was perfect and just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift. Obviously, the investigation will reveal the exact reason.”