- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 26/Jun 05:44

Tragedy of Air India Flight 171

On June 12, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating Air India Flight 171 from Ahmedabad Airport, Gujarat to London Gatwick Airport crashed shortly after takeoff at 1.38 pm Indian Standard Time (IST) into the hostel block of BJ Medical College in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. Of the 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, only a single passenger seated in seat 11A survived the crash. At least 39 people on the ground were also killed. The crash marked the first loss of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the first with fatalities. The 11-year Dreamliner was powered by two general electric GEnx-1B67 engines and carried a full load of fuel. Eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions, followed by thick plumes of smoke as the aircraft crashed into the residential area of the Civil Hospital campus, hitting the doctors' quarters and the students' hostel buildings of the BJ Medical College. The aircraft's partially intact stabilisers and tail cone came to rest on top of the multi-storey hostel building. The Central Industrial Security Force, responsible for security at Ahmedabad Airport, was among the first responders. The Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services Department issued the "brigade call" deploying more than 300 firefighters, 60 fire vehicles and 20 water bowsers. Dozens of ambulances rushed to the location. All roads leading to the crash site and surrounding areas were closed to facilitate rescue operations. Fire vehicles from neighbouring city fire services were sent to the scene to render assistance. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation deployed over 150 vehicles, including earthmovers, excavators and trucks to clear debris from the site. [caption id="attachment_1162919" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Investigators process the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad, India. via AP -[/caption] The corporation also deployed engineers and health personnel and ordered the emergency readiness of the municipal hospitals. India as the "state of occurrence" has the primary responsibility for investigating the accident in accordance with the ICAO Annex 13 – Accident Investigation. The annex states, "The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or an incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability." India is also the "state of the operator" and the "state of registration" – the country where the aircraft's principal place of business is located and where it is assigned a registration mark – and consequently India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the investigation. The US as the "state of manufacture" of the Dreamliner has to be part of the investigation team. The NTSB sent a "go team" on site which is receiving technical support from US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch also dispatched a team of four investigators to assist India’s AAIB. The first phase of the investigation is the collection of all factual data. This includes witness statements, meteorological conditions, aerodrome information, aids to navigation and wreckage information including photographic data of the aircraft in flight and the crash site. The Dreamliner debris will be mapped and every piece of aircraft debris will be tagged and taken to a large building to reconstruct the aircraft as far as possible. [caption id="attachment_1162920" align="alignnone" width="878"] -[/caption] Investigators will also probe the two pilots, scrutinising their training records, flying experience, time on type, rest times prior to the fatal flight and their personal lives seeking to identify any factors that could have affected their performance on the day of the flight such as fatigue or emotional stress. All historical maintenance records for the Dreamliner would be impounded and carefully reviewed by investigators to identify any latent mechanical faults that could have contributed to the accident. The Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFRs) consisting of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) together with the externally mounted digital video recorder were all recovered and contain the most valuable clues to determine the causal factors of the accident. The CVR recorded all conversations between the two pilots, communications with air traffic control, all warning sounds and other noises. The DFDR recorded several hundreds of parameters including the position of all flight controls, engine power settings, landing gear position, aircraft speed, altitude and rate of climb of the aircraft from the startup of the engines to the time of impact with the ground. The second phase of the investigation is the detailed analysis of all factual data. The NTSB has the technology to integrate the CVR and the DFDR data and simulate the aircraft flight. Every hypothesis developed would be meticulously tested for validity. The third phase will determine the conclusions and findings based on the analysis conducted during phase two of the investigation and supported by irrefutable evidence. The investigators would identify the most causal factor(s) that contributed to the accident and provide reasons for the findings. The fourth phase of the investigation would list recommendations to prevent a similar reoccurrence. This can include aircraft design changes, new operational and maintenance procedures, additional training and enhanced regulatory oversight. The fifth phase is the issuance of the final investigation report by India. It will list the safety actions to be taken and by whom to give effect to the recommendations made in phase four. Before doing so, India has to invite significant and substantiated comments on the draft report from the NTSB representing the state of manufacture and the UK AAIB which is assisting in the investigation. India is required to submit a preliminary report to the ICAO within 30 days of the accident. To ensure the independence of accident investigations, the ICAO Annex 13 was amended to require states to establish an accident investigation authority (AIA) that is independent from state aviation authorities and other entities that could interfere with the conduct or objectivity of an investigation. By ministerial directive, the TT Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) is required to report to its line Minister any aircraft accident which is required to be investigated by an AIA so that the minister can establish a special committee to investigate and report to the Minister on the investigation of such aircraft accident. The TTCAA’s role in initiating an accident investigation conflicts with the ICAO Annex 13. On January 22, there was a serious incident when one of the nosewheels of a CAL ATR72 aircraft fell off during the flight. This serious incident was not investigated by any ministerial committee. The writer of column is trained in aircraft accident investigation from the University of Southern California.   The post Tragedy of Air India Flight 171 appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.