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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Inside Air India’s First 24 Hours of Crisis Response
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson moved fast after one of the biggest aviation tragedies in history. The next days and weeks will define the airline. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft had 230 passengers and 12 crew on board, and only one survivor. The plane that crashed was in the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had clocked over 8,200 flying hours on the 787 and more than 10,000 hours in all. Air India is also leading the caregiving at Ahmedabad, along with the Tata Group, whose Chairman (also Air India’s Chairman), N Chandrasekharan, announced immediate financial assistance of over $116,000 on behalf of the families of everyone who lost their life in the crash. After 28 hours, it was confirmed that the vital Digital Voice and Data Recorder (DVDR) had been retrieved, which would aid the investigation into the accident. With no time to recover from the incidents of yesterday, the airline went to the trouble of diverting or returning 16 flights to the closure of the Iranian airspace.
Air India Liveblog Ongoing coverage of the crash of Air India flight 171 from Skift’s editorial team in India, Europe, and the United States. Ongoing coverage of the crash of Air India flight 171 from Skift’s editorial team in India, Europe, and the United States. Get the Latest Updates
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Air India CEO Campbell Wilson boarded AI143 on Thursday for the 1 PM flight from Delhi to Charles de Gaulle airport to participate in the upcoming Paris Air Show. He may have been planning to share good news: Reuters had reported earlier this month that Air India was in discussions for a major order of 200 narrowbody aircraft.
But just 15 minutes after his departure, at 1:39 pm, another Air India flight, AI 171, took off from Ahmedabad. It crashed within minutes. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft had 230 passengers and 12 crew on board, and only one survivor. Registered as VT-ANB, it had rotated all across the network in recent weeks, with flights to Paris, Tokyo, Melbourne, Milan, and Frankfurt.
Wilson’s plane was not equipped with internet connectivity, so word must have been sent to him via the cockpit. The plane turned around to head back to Delhi. We don’t know who made that extraordinary call: Wilson or someone else at Air India. But the plane was back on the ground in Delhi at 4 PM local time.
Emergency Response
The plane that crashed was in the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had clocked over 8,200 flying hours on the 787 and more than 10,000 hours in all. He was also a line training captain for the airline. His co-pilot had over 1,100 flight hours.
Seconds after take off, a mayday call was made to the ATC, after which the aircraft crashed into the nearby medical college hostel.
By the time Wilson landed in Delhi, the airline had confirmed the incident and set up a hotline. The airline’s website and social media handles had turned from red to gray and black, to indicate mourning.
Wilson rushed to the Emergency Command Centre at the Air India headquarters in Gurugram, where he took stock of the situation and recorded a 2.5 minute video that was released at 7:15pm local time. The message: It was not the time for speculation but rather accurate information. And the airline will cooperate in all possible ways with those affected, and the investigation.
By the evening, Wilson was headed to Ahmedabad where the airline is cooperating with the investigation, and providing technical assistance. On Friday morning, he visited the site of the crash.
Over 30 technical staff from Air India are currently in Ahmedabad to provide assistance to the recovery and investigation process. The investigation will be led by the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the Indian authority for aviation incidents. The U.S. National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the UK have deployed their teams to join the investigation.
Apart from recovery, Air India is also leading the caregiving at Ahmedabad, along with the Tata Group, whose Chairman (also Air India’s Chairman), N Chandrasekharan, announced immediate financial assistance of over $116,000 on behalf of the Tata Sons for the families of everyone who lost their life in the crash.
After 28 hours, it was confirmed that the vital Digital Voice and Data Recorder (DVDR) had been retrieved, which would aid the investigation into the accident. The DVDR is a device that combines both Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) capabilities into a single unit, and would hold a clue as to what went down in the final moments before the flight.
What’s Next
If there was the expectation of a celebratory few days at the Paris Air Show, everything now is about crisis management.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to staff on Thursday evening that he and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope had canceled plans to attend the show. Engine-maker GE Aerospace, whose engines were on the Boeing 787 plane, canceled their investor day event. It’s unclear if deals will still happen, though if so, they will surely be quiet.
At Air India, the airline is fighting battles on multiple fronts at the same time. With no time to recover from the incidents of yesterday, the airline went to diverting or returning 16 long-haul flights owing to the overnight closure of the Iranian airspace. To add to it, the airline also faced a hoax bomb threat on AI 379 from Phuket to Delhi.