Air India Pilots Take Initiative: Recreating the Ahmedabad Crash Conditions on Simulators
In an unprecedented move following the devastating Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, a dedicated group of senior Air India pilots took it upon themselves to meticulously recreate the flight’s final moments within the controlled environment of a flight simulator. These experienced fleet trainers, operating independently during a routine training session at the airline’s state-of-the-art Mumbai facility, sought to unravel some of the initial mysteries surrounding the tragic incident. Their findings from these simulations have sent ripples through the aviation community.
Startling Simulator Results: The Boeing 787-8 Defies Expectations
The pilots, driven by a deep desire for answers, simulated a range of challenging conditions that were initially theorized as potential factors in the crash. These included scenarios with a higher aircraft weight, elevated ambient temperatures, and critically, attempting flight with the landing gear extended and the wing flaps retracted at a low altitude of just 50 feet. What they observed in the simulator was startling: under these precise, adverse conditions, the Boeing 787-8 continued its flight path, defying assumptions that such an configuration would inevitably lead to an immediate stall or loss of control.
The Tragic Backdrop: Air India Flight AI 171 and the Ahmedabad Disaster
This profound simulator exercise comes in the wake of one of India’s most catastrophic aviation accidents in decades. On June 12, Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a medical hostel complex in Ahmedabad’s Meghani Nagar area shortly after takeoff. The impact was horrific. Of the 242 individuals onboard, 241 perished, leaving only a single survivor. Including casualties on the ground, the total death toll tragically reached 260. The sheer scale of human loss underscores the urgency and emotional weight behind every effort to understand the incident.
Understanding the Critical Aerodynamics: Flaps, Gear, and Flight Dynamics
To fully grasp the significance of the pilots’ simulator tests, it’s crucial to understand the role of an aircraft’s flaps and landing gear. Flaps are movable panels situated along the trailing edge of an aircraft’s wings. They are extended during takeoff and landing to significantly increase the wing’s surface area, thereby generating more ‘lift’ and allowing the plane to fly stably at lower speeds. This additional aerodynamic force is indispensable for safe ascents and descents. While pilots manually adjust flaps based on flight conditions, they are typically fully retracted during cruise flight. Simulating flight with flaps retracted at low altitude, combined with extended landing gear (which increases drag), represents a highly challenging aerodynamic configuration.
The Official Investigation Intensifies: AAIB, NTSB, and the Black Box Breakthrough
The independent efforts by the Air India pilots run parallel to a rigorous official inquiry. India’s nodal aircraft accident probe agency, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), launched an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the Ahmedabad tragedy, constituting a multidisciplinary team on June 13. This expert team includes crucial representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), alongside air traffic control officers and aviation medicine specialists. Currently, the most vital phase of the investigation is underway: the extraction and analysis of data from the aircraft’s ‘black boxes’ – the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). These invaluable devices hold the key to reconstructing the precise sequence of events that led to the fatal crash, offering the most definitive answers to what transpired in those tragic final moments.
