Cliff Notes
- An aviation analyst found anomalies in the configuration of Air India Flight 171, suggesting possible issues with the flaps and landing gear during take-off.
- Investigations revealed that the aircraft failed to gain altitude shortly after leaving the runway, raising concerns about its aerodynamic integrity and possible engine failure.
- The black boxes from the aircraft will play a crucial role in determining the cause of the crash, with speculation of possible bird strikes contributing to the disaster.
What happened to Air India Flight 171? – Aviation experts review crash video
An aviation analyst has reviewed footage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 before its fatal crash and assessed that the configuration of the passenger plane “doesn’t look right”.
The Dreamliner, with 242 people on board, including 53 Britons, came down shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India bound for Gatwick, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
At least one person – a UK national – survived the disaster and the passenger said he heard a loud noise soon after the plane left the ground.
Former British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein is among several experts who have told Sky News about their first look at video of Flight 171 which showed some potential anomalies.
“It’s clearly got its [landing] gear down and that is not correct… it should have been up. And from the video… it’s not immensely clear… but it does look like the aircraft didn’t have its take-off flap setting.”
Sources
What we know so far about the Air India flight 171 crash – a visual guide – The Guardian
India plane crash live: No more survivors from plane crash, Air India confirms – The Telegraph
Video: Expert examines CCTV footage to see what happened to Air India flight before crash – CNN
