An aviation consultant has suggested potential causes for the Air India flight crash that occurred as Flight 171 approached London Gatwick Airport from Ahmedabad, India. However, he cautions against speculation until the flight’s black box is recovered, which will provide crucial insights.
The aircraft reportedly failed to gain altitude after takeoff and collided with a hostel for medical staff, tragically resulting in the deaths of most passengers and several individuals on the ground. Professor Ron Bartsch, the chairman of Avlaw Aviation Consulting, noted observations from video footage indicating that the aircraft’s landing gear was down—a configuration that shouldn’t have been expected during that phase of flight. He mentioned that the flaps appeared retracted, leading to concerns about the possibility of pilot error in the handling of the aircraft.
Bartsch highlighted that if the pilot mistakenly raised the flaps instead of the landing gear, this could explain the crash circumstances. Remarkably, there was one survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose survival was described as extraordinary given the crash’s severity. He had changed his seat shortly before takeoff to one near an emergency exit, which may have aided his survival amidst the wreckage.
The forced impact of the crash likely compromised the emergency exit’s integrity, raising questions about how Ramesh managed to escape. Bartsch emphasised the importance of retrieving the black box, which contains the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. These devices are essential for determining the final moments of the flight, including any technical failures that may have contributed to the incident.
The tragedy involved 240 passengers, leading to significant casualties, including at least 50 fatalities on the ground. Victims included both those aboard the flight, children among them, and individuals inside the BJ Medical College and Hospital hostel, which the plane struck.
Bartsch has termed this event an “absolute tragedy,” underlining the urgency for thorough investigation and analysis once the data from the black box becomes available. Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder are pivotal in understanding the full scope of the tragic occurrence, which underscores the ongoing need for safety assessments in aviation.