Air India Crash Probe: Key Evidence, Black Box Recovery, and Theories So Far
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Air India plane crash: RAT video key to unravelling catastrophe
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What changed the investigation
Captain Steve Scheibner, a former US Navy pilot and seasoned aviation analyst, discovered a small gray dot beneath the aircraft’s belly in enhanced footage — the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) had deployed. This tiny emergency propeller only comes out when something has gone terribly wrong.
The RAT looks like a little Evinrude motor — a two-blade prop that provides electrical and hydraulic pressure for aircraft in extreme emergencies. It only deploys during massive electrical failure, huge hydraulic failure, or dual engine failure.
4 evidences that point to catastrophic engine failure
1) Visual: “That little gray dot is the RAT,” Scheibner explains, pointing to enhanced footage. “This is visual confirmation that the RAT deployed.”
2) Audio: Playing the original crash video, you can hear a distinctive high-pitched sound like ‘a little Cessna going by’ — the RAT spinning at near-sonic speeds to generate emergency power.
3) Survivor statement: The lone survivor in seat 11A told investigators he heard a loud bang and saw cabin lights flicker before impact — ‘consistent with RAT deployment’.
4) Mayday call: The flight crew issued a mayday call, reporting a loss of power and thrust shortly after takeoff.
Why did both engines fail?
“This puts the dual engine failure theory in first place,” Scheibner concludes. “But we’re still at square one. We don’t know why both engines on a 787 flamed out after takeoff. It’s a real head-scratcher.” Possible causes include:
* Bird strike affecting both engines
* Fuel contamination
* Electrical system failure in the 787’s advanced systems
* Hydraulic failure cascade
Meanwhile, both black boxes have been recovered. The data will be sent to Boeing for initial diagnostics, with global aviation bodies watching closely. The black boxes will reveal:
* Every word spoken in the cockpit
* Every warning light and alarm
* Every switch movement
* Exact engine performance data
* Hydraulic and electrical system status
Was this preventable?
There are modern safety technology available to counter such scenarios. These include:
* Predictive Analytics: Tools like Honeywell Forge and Rolls-Royce Blue Data Thread use AI to spot tiny issues before they become disasters
* Real-time Monitoring: Systems like Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety keep aircraft connected at all times
* Advanced Diagnostics: Live data streaming from cockpit to ground control
Aviation safety isn’t just about technology — it is about budgets, policy, accountability, and global cooperation. The question remains: why wasn’t more done to prevent this tragedy?
India’s aviation authority ordered Air India to undertake extra safety checks on all Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes “as a preventative measure.”
With the RAT evidence changing everything, the aviation community is asking hard questions about the 787’s electrical systems, dual engine failure scenarios, and whether current safety protocols are enough.
The RAT deployment footage has transformed the Air India 171 investigation from multiple theories to a focused look at catastrophic dual engine failure. While the visual evidence is compelling, the real answers lie in the black box data that will take weeks to decode. The tragedy highlights the gap between available safety technology and its implementation — a gap that may have cost 279 lives.
Key Takeaway: In aviation, small details can reveal big truths. The “little gray dot” spotted by Captain Scheibner may be the key to understanding not just what happened to Flight 171, but how to prevent similar disasters in the future.
The author is a defence, aerospace and geopolitical analyst.
Black boxes analyzed for cause of Air India crash that killed 270
Investigators in India are studying the black boxes of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The black boxes will provide cockpit conversations and data related to the plane’s engine and control settings. The London-bound Air India aircraft crashed on a medical college hostel soon after taking off from 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. The investigation into last week’s crash would likely be a long process as the aircraft was badly charred, experts say.. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
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.
Did Air India crash plane’s engines fail during takeoff? Investigators believe emergency power system ‘was likely active’
Investigators believe the Air India Flight that crashed in Ahmedabad killing 270 people had an emergency-power generator operating when it came down, according to a report. The emergency generator system is known as a ram air turbine. It is a small propeller that drops from the bottom of the 787 Dreamliner’s fuselage to serve as a backup power supply. The system can deploy automatically in flight if both engines have failed or if all three hydraulic system pressures are low.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a preliminary finding of the probe into the crash points towards problems with the plane’s engines during takeoff.
The breakthrough in the investigation gives investigators a new line of inquiry as they study what caused last week’s disaster, people familiar with the probe told the the US newspaper.
See also: Is flying now unsafe or is 2025 just ‘a bad year in aviation safety history’?
The emergency generator system is known as a ram air turbine. It is a small propeller that drops from the bottom of the 787 Dreamliner’s fuselage to serve as a backup power supply.
Engines normally produce electricity for an aircraft and help run its flight-control systems. The power generated by the RAT can enable crucial aircraft components to function.
The system can deploy automatically in flight if both engines have failed or if all three hydraulic system pressures are low, according to an airline’s Boeing 787 manual reviewed by The WSJ.
It can also deploy if cockpit instruments lose power or problems emerge with the aircraft’s electric motor pumps.
Anthony Brickhouse, a U.S.-based aerospace safety consultant told the newspaper the most common occurrence is when a pilot thinks that both engines failed.
It comes after the captain of the doomed Air India flight’s chilling last ‘mayday’ call was revealed in which he said he was “losing power”
“Thrust not achieved… falling… Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”, the Times of India reported him as saying.
While an aviation expert said a new bombshell video provides evidence that the Air India Boeing 787 lost power immediately after take-off.
Investigators are sifting through the wreckage and decoding the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to piece together what went catastrophically wrong in the seconds after take-off.
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said the accident remains under investigation and that more information would be provided in due course.
Air-accident investigations can take more than a year – and even then will often point to a number of contributing factors.
Air India axes eight flights as ENTIRE Dreamliner fleet inspected after horror crash
Air India axes eight flights as ENTIRE Dreamliner fleet inspected after horror crash. Airline cited a combination of aircraft unavailability, technical issues, airspace restrictions and extended safety checks as reasons behind the cancellations. At least three other flights operated by the same aircraft model have been grounded or delayed in the past 48 hours after the airline was ordered by India’s aviation regulator to inspect its entire fleet. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after take-off with 242 people on board. Everyone on board, apart from Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was killed. Investigators in the country are now studying the black boxes that were recovered from the aircraft wreckage to ascertain the cause of the crash. 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.
Eight international flights due to be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners have been cancelled by Air India. They included services to London, Paris, Vienna and Dubai
Air India has cancelled eight international flights (Image: AP )
Air India has cancelled eight international flights and is inspecting it’s entire fleet of Dreamliners as the investigation into last week’s tragic crash continues. The axed flights, which affected services to cities including London, Paris, Vienna and Dubai, were all due to be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners – the aircraft model involved in the Flight 171 crash last Thursday.
The airline cited a combination of aircraft unavailability, technical issues, airspace restrictions and extended safety checks as reasons behind the cancellations. At least three other flights operated by the same aircraft model have been grounded or delayed in the past 48 hours after the airline was ordered by India’s aviation regulator to inspect its entire fleet.
Air India crash investigators reveal possible cause of tragedy in huge breakthrough READ MORE:
The wreckage from last Thursday’s plane crash (Image: AP )
A flight due to depart Ahmedabad towards London Gatwick – the same route as the doomed aircraft in which all crew and passengers, except for one British man, lost their life – was also cancelled on Tuesday.
An airline spokesman said the flight was cancelled “due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft.”
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On Tuesday, India’s aviation safety watchdog said surveillance conducted on the Boeing 787 fleet – which is a key component of the airline’s long-haul planes – didn’t reveal any major safety concerns.
People pictured standing around the debris of doomed Flight 171 after the crash (Image: AP )
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement: “The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards.”
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after take-off with 242 people on board. Everyone on board, apart from Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was killed.
As the plane came down, it also hit nearby buildings, killing 29 people on the ground. Investigators in the country are now studying the black boxes that were recovered from the aircraft wreckage to ascertain the cause of the crash.
The moment the plane hit a building and exploded in Ahmedabad
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 tragedy, which was 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 UK, the UK and officials from Boeing. Former pilot and an aviation expert Amit Singh said the recovery of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are crucial to piece together the sequence of events.
Police investigating the site of the crash (Image: Getty Images )
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,” Mr 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.
The back of Air India flight 171 is pictured at the site (Image: AFP via Getty Images )
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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.
Mr 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.
Air India plane crash UPDATES: Tragic final call revealed as death toll rises
The death toll from the Air India crash has now risen to 270 following the recovery of more bodies. The airline confirmed that 241 of the 242 people on board sadly died in the horrifying crash near Ahmedabad Airport in western India.
It comes as the death toll from the Air India crash has now risen to 270 following the recovery of more bodies from the disaster scene.
The airline confirmed that 241 of the 242 people on board sadly died in the horrifying crash near Ahmedabad Airport in western India on Thursday – and now hospital officials have increased that toll.
Do you know anyone connected to the flight? Get in touch at webnews@mirror.co.uk
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