A test flight recreation of AI 171 by Air India, which crashed last month, has ruled out flight conditions alone as causing the accident. Instead, the simulation had shed light on dual engine failure. Air India pilots did a test flight as part of the investigation. The purpose of the simulation was to reenact the flight of the AI 171.
According to a Bloomberg report, the final flight conditions, like landing gear being out and wing flaps pulled back, did not cause the crash by themselves. Now, they suspect that both engines failing may be the real reason. The probability has shifted the focus to technical failure, which may be a possible cause, said the report.
The London-bound Air India plane crashed soon after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, killing all 242 people on board. The investigators and the airline are studying possible dual engine failure as a scenario that prevented the Boeing Co. 787 jet from staying airborne.
The incident is being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. This comes as reports on Tuesday suggested the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) may release the first official report and its preliminary findings later this week or early next week.
Wing Flaps And Slats
The report says the broken parts of the plane show that the wing flaps and slats, which help the plane lift during takeoff, were in the right position. The pilots, who died in the crash, sent a Mayday call soon after takeoff. People who know about the investigation told Bloomberg that only about 15 seconds passed between the distress call and the crash. The report also suggests that the simulation was conducted separately from the formal investigation being conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India.
The Boeing 787 that crashed had two engines made by General Electric. A video of the plane showed it having trouble rising into the air after takeoff. Then it fell back to the ground and exploded. The video from the time of the crash showed the landing gear leaning forward. This means the pilot had started to pull the wheels back in, but something went wrong and the process couldn’t finish. The landing gear doors were still closed, which points to either a power cut or a hydraulic problem. Earlier, it was also found that an emergency power system called RAT turned on just before the crash. This adds to the signs that the plane may have lost engine power or had some other serious system failure.
