Following a fatal Learjet crash, the AAIB is urging the DGCA to implement stricter standard operating procedures for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flights at uncontrolled airfields to improve aviation safety in India.
Tensions began soon after Indian authorities proposed flying the American black-box experts to a remote military facility, even as US officials intervened, citing safety and security risks.
Both the CVRs and FDRs were recovered within a week after the accident. One was retrieved from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16.
The US federal agency, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), responsible for the investigation of aviation accidents and significant transportation events in the country, on Friday (local time) issued a strong rebuke of recent media coverage made over the preliminary investigative report on the aftermath of the ill-fated Air India 171 crash that claimed 260 lives in Gujarat's Ahmedabad last month.
Several foreign experts were seen scouting the crash site for the last two days, checking the debris to find clues.
The Federation of Indian Pilots on Friday initiated legal action through a formal notice to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters over their recent reports on the AI-171 crash that occurred on June 12.
It added that as per international protocols under the International Civil Aviation Organisation, all information on the investigation will be provided by the government of India.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
'... when the process isn't transparent, people will naturally raise questions. 'The AAIB's own press release says they had the black boxes by June 16.' 'Why wasn't decoding initiated until the 24th? What were they waiting for?'
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, the debris, including the ill-fated aircraft's tail fin, is still lying at the site as investigators looked for clues to establish the exact cause behind the accident, said officials on Thursday.
Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan claims human error led to the Air India plane crash and calls for more transparency in the AAIB's preliminary report.
With the finding of both black boxes of the plane, it would be easy for investigators to ascertain the cause of the crash.
Pilot groups have accused the AAIB of portraying the pilots as responsible for the incident, with vague and selective presentation of cockpit conversations.
A preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad reveals that both fuel switches were cut off before the crash, followed by pilot confusion. The report also indicates that fuel samples were satisfactory and no immediate action is recommended for Boeing 787-8 operators.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.'
The growing rift between MSIL and rival automakers has complicated the government's efforts to finalise the CAFE norms.
The ministry of civil aviation clarified that, contrary to circulating reports, a video recorder that had been recovered at the crash site was not the DFDR.
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
'The AAIB will collect every single retrievable piece of the aircraft and transport it to a secure location -- usually a large hangar capable of housing a Boeing 787.' 'The entire aircraft will be laid out, each part marked and tagged, and practically rebuilt like a jigsaw puzzle.'
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told PTI that the accident took place above the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility due to bad weather.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
'When there are glaring errors in the report, how can you trust anything in it?'
The safety warning was issued before the arrival of Australia's Transport Safety Bureau's preliminary report which is looking into the engine failure of Qantas flight QF32 last month.
The debris, found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast, is the latest piece of wreckage to be linked to the Malaysia Airlines jet, whose disappearance remains a mystery.
Investigators found that the aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, was flying at its cruise altitude of 37,000 ft south of Myanmar and near an area of developing storms in the afternoon when turbulence started to cause fluctuations between +0.44g and +1.57g for 19 seconds.
Smoke and the smell of melted plastic, burnt hair and electronics filled the cabin for the rest of the journey to Melbourne.
The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search which has turned up few leads.
Despite the hope that lessons will be learnt, the next accident invariably shows that nothing has been learnt -- or if learnt, they have been ignored, observes Prosenjit Datta.
The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has revealed a previously uncharted shipwreck.
Kailash Gahlot, a key minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, has resigned, potentially impacting the party's ambitious plan to roll out a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium scheme for women ahead of the Assembly polls in February. Gahlot, who represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi, cited several issues, including the "Sheeshmahal" controversy over his former official residence, the Delhi government's tussle with the Centre, and the failure to clean the Yamuna River, in his resignation letter. Delhi BJP leaders welcomed Gahlot's resignation, fueling speculation that he could join the party before the assembly polls. However, AAP leaders claimed Gahlot resigned due to pressure from central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, and that joining the BJP was his last option. Gahlot's resignation has sparked speculation about his future and the impact it will have on the AAP's electoral prospects.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
The missing Malaysian plane was 'highly likely' to have been on autopilot as it flew over the Indian Ocean, Australian officials on Thursday said, as they decided to focus further south to locate the plane that vanished mysteriously over three months back.
A Malaysia Airlines aircraft carrying more than 300 passengers made an emergency landing at Melbourne airport on Friday after a reported engine fire.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that mysteriously disappeared with 239 people on board nearly a year ago was deliberately taken off course by someone in the cockpit and flown towards Antarctica, experts have claimed.
The government has deferred the implementation of the proposal to make six airbags mandatory in passenger cars by one year to October 1, 2023, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The government had earlier planned to make six airbags mandatory in eight-seater vehicles for enhanced safety of occupants from October 1, 2022. "Considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 01st October 2023," Gadkari said in a tweet.
Both were rescued from the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express that derailed near Bahanaga Bazar Station on June 2 that had claimed 275 lives and left around 1,200 injured.
A metal object found on a beach in Western Australia does not belong to a Malaysian jet that vanished nearly seven weeks ago, authorities said on Thursday even as a robotic mini-submarine scouring the Indian Ocean seabed scanned more than 90 per cent of the focused search area.
A former Australian defence official, who headed the search for the missing Malaysian jet MH370 in the Indian Ocean, will lead Australia's MH17 plane investigation and recovery operation in Ukraine.
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