'The black box is very much in India and it it currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau'
An Air India Express flight from Delhi to Indore, carrying 161 passengers, experienced an engine fault mid-air. The pilot issued a 'PAN-PAN' call, indicating a non-life-threatening emergency, and the plane landed safely in Indore with a slight delay.
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.
IndiGo, which operates the largest fleet among Indian carriers, has reported the highest number of serious engine-related incidents.
A five-member team, headed by Sanjay Kumar Singh, is probing the fatal crash of the Air India aircraft last month in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report and appointed the team.
'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism.'
The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway, and the bodies will be handed over to their relatives once the process is complete.
'I now see rates rising again, particularly after recent losses - especially the January wildfires in Los Angeles.'
Pilot groups have accused the AAIB of portraying the pilots as responsible for the incident, with vague and selective presentation of cockpit conversations.
"Decoding of the black box is going to give in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said at a briefing in the national capital.
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.
A timeline of events related to the investigation of the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, including investigation initiation, black box recovery, and safety measures taken.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
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.
Under the civil aviation ministry, AAIB is responsible for the classification of safety occurrences, involving aircraft operating in the Indian airspace into accidents and serious incidents.
The Air India plane AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed immediately after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, as per the Gujarat State Police Control Room.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Saturday said it continues to support the ongoing investigation into the Air India Flight AI171 crash, hours after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on the incident that occurred in Ahmedabad.
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.
The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
'The overall well-being of the pilots should be at the top of any airline's agenda in such situations.'
The only case where there could be a change in insurance payout is if Air India's management were found to be aware of the accident and the accident was deliberate.
'They will cover up the failures of all the others.'
After a London-bound Air India aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, the spotlight is back on India's history with aviation disasters.
A passenger from Lahore was mistakenly flown to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, instead of Karachi, Pakistan, due to an airline error. The passenger was eventually deported back to Pakistan after a 15-hour ordeal.
The nationality of the passengers onboard will define the minimum liability applicable to the airline operator as per the Montreal Convention, Prudent Insurance Brokers vice president (aviation & specialty lines) Hitesh Girotra said.
The recent helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in which seven lives were lost, has proven yet again that aviation regulatory authorities have not learnt lessons from similar air mishaps in the challenging Kedar valley and have done little to improve flying conditions.
A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from Mumbai was held back for over five hours on June 25, after some hay was found stuck in one of the aircraft's wings, the airline has said.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has urged restraint in speculating about the cause of the Air India plane crash, emphasizing that the investigation is ongoing and premature narratives should be avoided.
'The crash site must be secured because something small -- like a pipe or hydraulic line -- could hold a critical clue.'
On the one-month anniversary of the Air India flight 171 crash that killed 241 passengers and 19 on the ground, relatives of passengers expressed renewed anxieties as they saw loved ones depart on the same route.
'Visualise those 15 to 18 seconds: Fully loaded aircraft, pilot manually controlling with both hands (no autopilot immediately after takeoff), looking forward while switches are behind.'
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft -- VT-ANB -- was 11.5 years old and had flown for more than 41,000 hours, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
'... 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?'
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence near Pathankot on Wednesday, prompting the crew to request permission to enter Pakistani airspace to avoid the weather. However, their request was denied. The aircraft, an A321 neo operating flight 6E 2142, experienced hailstorm and turbulence, triggering various warnings and forcing the autopilot to trip. The crew managed to safely land the aircraft in Srinagar after a harrowing experience. The incident is under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which confirmed there were no injuries to passengers but noted damage to the aircraft's nose radome.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has already launched a formal investigation into the incident.
The DGCA has issued multiple fines and warnings to Air India over the past three years, flagging serious concerns in flight operations, cockpit discipline, and internal accountability.
An Air India passenger allegedly urinated on a fellow traveller during a flight from Delhi to Bangkok on Wednesday. Air India has reported the incident to the authorities (DGCA) and is investigating the matter. The airline has also stated that its crew followed all laid down procedures in handling the situation and offered assistance to the aggrieved passenger.
'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.'
Five pilgrims and a pilot onboard a helicopter had a narrow escape when the aircraft on its way to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway in Rudraprayag district on Saturday after developing a technical snag during take-off, officials said.
