DELAY IN REVEALING DETAILS ABOUT AIR INDIA CRASH IS CAUSING ANXIETY

The Tatas and Boeing have to come out with some positive information soon to reassure pilots, crew, and public

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Two weeks have passed since the fatal crash of Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad on June 12. The vital digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) have been recovered. Initial reports mentioned they were damaged and were being sent to the U.S. for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to decode. Subsequently, authorities announced it was being decoded in India.

With rumours and theories going around, blaming the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, and various YouTube experts dishing out various interpretations, there is fear not only among the passengers but also the operating crew of Air India. The continued procrastination in coming out with information that could put to rest the wild rumours and the silence by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as well as the airline, compel me to reassure the public that flying is safe, and it is the system that is at fault.

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The only visual clue we have is the CCTV footage released by the airport operator. Though it does not show the first part of the take-off run, it does provide vital clue about the second part, and why "human error", and not the aircraft, is at fault. If the entire take-off sequence was available in the video, it would have put to rest the rumour that the flight did not use the full length of the runway but took off from an intersection. It was clarified by the flight tracker service provider that the full length was used but a new doubt has sprung up:

if the aircraft used the turning pad before the end of the runway to expedite departure. It's hoped that in the interest of Air India and Boeing, the DFDR findings would be released immediately.