Agencies recover black box, Prime Minister visits scene
Ahmedabad: Investigators on Friday recovered Black box of the London-bound Air India plane from the rooftop of a medical college hostel here a day after it crashed and rammed into the building, as they scoured through the debris for clues to the cause of the worst air tragedy in the country in three decades.
In a major breakthrough, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), without giving details, said the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), commonly known as the Black box, was recovered from the “rooftop” at the crash site. The DFDR will help reconstruct the ill-fated flight’s final moments and is crucial to determining how the disaster occurred.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (AI 171) and another 24 persons including five MBBS students on the ground were killed when the aircraft came down seconds after take-off before falling inside the campus of the state-run BJ Medical College campus in Meghaninagar area and going up in flames.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the scene of the crash and met the injured at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He spent around 20 minutes at the crash site.
Aviation experts discussed the possible causes of the crash, including loss of thrust in both engines of the 11-year-old aircraft, multiple bird strikes or a potential flap issue.
The DFDR typically located in the tail section of an aircraft is painted bright orange to make it easier to locate in wreckage.
Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said the DFDR has been recovered within 28 hours from the accident site by the AAIB. “This marks an important step forward in the investigation. This will significantly aid the inquiry into the incident,” he said on X.
There was no word yet on recovery of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), which is also known as a Black box. CVR records radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit, such as conversations between the pilots and engine noises.
As grieving families of the victims try to come to terms with the catastrophe and desperately wait to collect the bodies, police said bodies of six victims were handed over to their families after identification.
Of the 265 bodies brought to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for post-mortem on Thursday, six victims were identified so far, as their faces were intact, police inspector Chirag Gosai said.
He said DNA profiling is under way to ascertain the identities of others as their bodies are charred beyond recognition.
“We have started the process of collecting DNA samples of relatives for profiling to identify bodies that are charred beyond recognition,” Gosai said. “Relatives of 215 deceased persons have approached us to give their samples,” he said.
“It will take nearly 72 hours to complete the exercise of matching the DNA samples. Once there is a match, bodies will be handed over to relatives from the post-mortem room,” Gosai said.
At the city civil hospital, Prime Minister Modi spoke to Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone on board survivor, and also met other injured persons. Modi visited the C7 ward of the hospital, where 25 injured people are undergoing treatment, and interacted with the doctors.
He met state and civil aviation officers at the GujSail office near the Ahmedabad airport and was briefed on the crash. He also met the family members of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who was among the victims, at the GujSail office and remembered him as a humble and hardworking leader.
Sources said officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited the crash site.
DGCA orders improved inspection of AI’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet
New Delhi: Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet powered by GEnx engines, a day after 241 people onboard died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad. The enhanced DGCA inspection will include checks of various systems and a review of take-off parameters of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft of Air India, owned by Tata Group.
Air India’s fleet includes 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft and 7 Boeing 787-9 planes.
Meanwhile, US aircraft engine maker GE Aerospace, in a statement, said it continues to work closely with the appropriate regulatory and investigative agencies.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes equipped with GEnx engines with immediate effect. These actions will be carried out in coordination with the DGCA regional offices concerned.
Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, operating a flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed soon after the take-off on Thursday afternoon. Out of the 242 people on board the plane, only one person survived.
With effect from January 15, the regulator has ordered various one-time checks of the Boeing 787 planes, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring and associated system checks.
Inspection of cabin air compressor and associated systems, electronic engine control system test, engine fuel driven actuator-operational test, and oil system checks have also been ordered. Besides, DGCA has directed to carry out a serviceability check of the hydraulic system and review of take-off parameters.
According to an order issued by the watchdog, flight control inspection has to be introduced in transit inspection till further notice, apart from having power assurance checks within two weeks.
Also, DGCA has said there should be “closure of maintenance actions based upon the review of repetitive snags during the last 15 days on B787-8/9 aircraft at the earliest”. Reports of these checks have to be submitted to the regulator for review.
The London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 aircraft that crashed on Thursday was powered by GEnx engines. GEnx engines are made by GE Aerospace.
On Thursday, GE Aerospace said it is prepared to support Air India and the investigation into the plane crash in Ahmedabad. PTI
Bomb threat to AI flight
Phuket: A day after an Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after take-off, killing 265 people, including 241 passengers out of 242, an Air India flight from Phuket to New Delhi made an emergency landing due to a bomb threat, reported Reuters, citing airport authorities.
Air India AI 379, carrying 156 passengers, took off from Phuket Airport at 9:30 am on Friday. The flight made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed again on the southern Thai island. All the passengers were evacuated from the plane.
