AIR INDIA CRASH: WHAT WENT WRONG?

Bird strike to RAT alert: AI-171 probe explores all possible leads

- BY JAY HILOTIN Senior Assistant Editor

It’s been four days since the crash of Air India Flight AI-171, a 12-year-old Boeing 787 8 Dreamliner en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. The aircraft, tail number VT ANB, carrying 242 people, took off from Ahmedabad International at 13:39 local time on June 12 and crashed shortly after.

Investigators from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), along with the US Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, and UK AAIB, are working to determine what caused the jet — with a clean service record and 41,700 flight hours — to go down. Black boxes recovered on June 13 are being analysed and are expected to yield crucial insights.

Potential ‘game-changer’

A recently surfaced 19-second video appears to be key to the investigation. It shows a protrusion from the aircraft’s belly — a door opening to deploy the ram air turbine (RAT), which activates in emergencies when engines fail. Aviation experts consider this video a potential “game-changer.”