Brittle truce

The agreement between the United States and China over rare earth exports marks a small but telling pause in what has become an increasingly tangled and volatile economic conflict.

- 

The devastating crash of Air India's London-bound flight from Ahmedabad is a grim reminder of the fragile boundaries of air safety, no matter how advanced the aircraft or how routine the journey. The loss of over 200 lives—including passengers and possibly residents in the accident impact zone—casts a long shadow over India's civil aviation sector and raises troubling but necessary questions about preparedness, processes, and human vigilance in air operations. The aircraft in question was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, among the most technologically advanced in global fleets. Significantly, Air India had, as part of its expansion plans, ordered 20 more such aircraft in June 2023. The aircraft's catastrophic failure within minutes of take-off—a phase universally known as one of the riskiest in flight—underlines that no amount of design sophistication can entirely insulate aviation from tragic outcomes. The pilot reportedly gave a mayday call seconds after taking off, and contact was lost soon after. Why that call went out, what exact technical or human shortcomings caused the plane to lose power so quickly, and whether external factors played a role remain to be determined through exhaustive investigation. It is essential to resist speculation. Early footage and analysis suggest issues with the wing flaps or undercarriage position, both of which are critical in stabilizing a plane during ascent. Yet, assumptions made before black box data is fully recovered and decoded would be irresponsible, potentially misleading and would unfairly prejudge the causes. Investigators must work free of media pressure and public impatience to establish facts methodically and transparently, and the media must ensure that reportage is balanced. What this tragedy does demand, however, is a clear-eyed assessment of India's aviation ecosystem. Civil aviation in Indi