Damn, imagine that..those are made with tough material!

Air India pilots re-enact doomed take-off to work out what went wrong
By Mihir Mishra
Updated July 3, 2025 — 11.43amfirst published at 11.36am

More than two weeks after the deadly crash of an Air India plane that killed all but one of the 242 people on board, investigators and the airline are studying possible dual engine failure as a scenario that prevented the Boeing 787 jet from staying airborne.

The airliner came down moments after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12. Video footage showed it struggling to gain altitude and sinking back to the ground, where it hit buildings and exploded. Nineteen people were killed on the ground.

Air India pilots re-enacted the doomed aircraft’s parameters in a flight simulator, including with the landing gear deployed and the wing flaps retracted, and found those settings alone didn’t cause a crash, according to people familiar with the investigation.

The result, alongside the previous discovery that an emergency-power turbine deployed seconds before impact, has reinforced the focus on a technical failure as one possible cause, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public deliberations.

The simulated flight was conducted separately from the official probe being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and was done to explore possible scenarios, one of the people said.

Additional clues

The Boeing 787 was powered by two General Electric (GE) engines. Boeing declined to comment and deferred any questions to the AAIB, while GE said it could not comment on an active investigation.

The AAIB and Air India did not respond to a request for comment.

Whether or why both engines would have simultaneously lost power remains unknown, but investigators will seek additional clues from the two flight recorders, from which data has been extracted and is being analysed.

The investigation is exploring a wide range of scenarios, though a closer focus is on technical issues, the people said.



Whether or why both engines would have simultaneously lost power remains unknown, but investigators will seek additional clues from the two flight recorders, from which data has been extracted and is being analysed.

The investigation is exploring a wide range of scenarios, though a closer focus is on technical issues, the people said.

Pilots who reviewed the footage have noted that the landing gear was already partially tilted forward, suggesting the cockpit crew had initiated the wheel retraction sequence.

At the same time, the landing gear doors had not opened, which pilots say might mean that the aircraft experienced a loss of power or a hydraulic failure, again pointing to possible issues with the engines that provide the aircraft’s electricity.

The engines of modern aircraft are computer-controlled using a system called Full Authority Digital Engine Control, or FADEC, which helps pilots control an aircraft’s power and makes sure the engines are used efficiently and not outside their operating limits.

An emergency turbine, called the RAT, which deploys from the back of the aircraft in the case of electrical failure, was activated before the plane crashed, according to previous findings.

That fan helps provide the aircraft with vital power, though it’s far too small to generate any lift.

Fifteen seconds

Analysis of the wreckage suggests the wing flaps and slats, which help an aircraft increase lift during takeoff, were extended correctly.

The crash ranks as the worst accident in Indian civil aviation in several decades, and it’s the first time that a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been lost to an accident.

The pilots, who died in the crash, sent out a mayday signal shortly after take-off. There were only about 15 seconds between the distress call and impact, two people familiar with the investigation said.



Teams from Boeing and the US National Transportation Safety Board are supporting the investigation on the ground.

It’s unknown when authorities will give an update on the flight recorder data, which typically provides a comprehensive analysis of an aircraft’s settings and performance metrics as well as conversations in the cockpit.

Source: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/asia...703-p5mc5x.html

Air India jet's fuel switches in focus, as crash preliminary report nears
By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson
July 9, 2025

July 8 (Reuters) - A preliminary report into the deadly crash of an Air India jetliner in June is expected to be released by Friday, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, with one adding the probe had narrowed its focus to the movement of the plane's fuel control switches.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which started losing height after reaching an altitude of 650 feet, crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and the rest on the ground.

The investigation into the Air India crash is focusing on the movement of the engine fuel control switches following an analysis of the 787's flight and voice data recorders, along with a simulation by Boeing of the aircraft's final moments, one of the sources said.

The investigation has not raised any immediate concerns over mechanical failure, the source said, and there has been no bulletin to airlines recommending changes to 787 operations.

Boeing declined to comment.

Aviation industry publication the Air Current first reported the focus on the fuel switches that help power the plane's two engines.

It was not clear what specific actions involving the fuel switches are being looked at by investigators.

Sources told the Air Current that the available information on the black boxes could not rule in or out improper, inadvertent or intentional actions that preceded or followed the apparent loss of thrust before the aircraft crashed.

U.S. aviation safety expert John Cox said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. "You can't bump them and they move," he said.

Cox added that if a switch was shut off, the effect would be almost immediate, cutting off engine power.

Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors. The investigation is focusing at least partly on engine thrust, Reuters reported last month.

While the report from Indian investigators could be made public on Friday, the three sources cautioned to Reuters that plans could change and there was no clarity on how much information would be available in the document, which comes about 30 days after the June 12 tragedy.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media.

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is leading the probe under international rules, did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

INFORMATION RELEASE
The probe has been dogged by questions over lack of information, after investigators took about two weeks to download flight recorder data after the crash. The Indian government held only one press conference on the incident, and no questions were taken.

However, India reversed course on an earlier decision reported by Reuters to prevent a U.N. aviation investigator from joining the probe, two senior sources said.

A specialist from the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was granted observer status, following an unusual request by the agency to offer its support.

ICAO declined to comment, adding in a statement that any public discussion of "cooperative arrangements," would require authorisation by the state.

The crash is challenging the Tata Group's ambitious campaign to restore Air India's reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022.

India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, with New Delhi saying it wants India to be a job-creating global aviation hub along the lines of Dubai, which currently handles much of the country's international traffic.

A panel of Indian lawmakers will review safety in the country's civil aviation sector and has invited several industry and government officials to answer questions on Wednesday, with topics set to include the recent plane crash.

Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/investi...try-2025-07-08/

So is the too short a take off lift the cause? Verified?

This post has been edited by jojolicia: Jul 10 2025, 07:52 AM

One of the memory items for dual engine failure on 787...

Fuel Control Switches: Cutoff then Run




Plane crashed in 32 secs, who TF knows what they managed to do in that time without the report, CVR, FDR...





Smells like some quarters are trying to push the narrative and blame the the pilot(s).
Perhaps some giant of the industry will not survive another MAX debacle.

I hope the prelim report is released soon.

How come still no info on the blackbox?

huh so pilot error? forgot to on fuel switch

https://aaib.gov.in/What's%20New%20Asse...rt%20VT-ANB.pdf




Backup
https://www.mediafire.com/file/4n42kridvwhk...port_VT-ANB.pdf

This post has been edited by countingcrows: Jul 12 2025, 06:06 AM

It's interesting to see where the pilots hands are during a typical 787-8 flight when the fuel cutoff switches were alleged to have been moved in the Air India flight.



Perhaps, it is around 01:13 in the video.





In the video, it is the female Captain that is pilot flying but in the Air India flight, many are saying that it was the First Officer in the right seat that was the pilot flying.

sometimes co pilot is the one flying while the captain does the management and decisions, communicate with atc

Yes indeed, they take turns to fly.

Anyway, I finally found it in the prelim report. 😁

First Officer as pilot flying 787








Captain retains control of the throttle in case of takeoff rejection.

I think the Captain has ample opportunity to alter the fuel cutoff switch if it has to be either of the pilots.

Ranganathan also raised questions about mental health oversight in Indian aviation, citing reports from serving Air India pilots that one of the cockpit crew had a known medical condition and had been on extended medical leave prior to the crash.

Crazy man...

This post has been edited by RT8081: Jul 13 2025, 03:25 PM

Safety Information Bulletin - NM-18-33











https://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/NM-18-33

Hmmm......while unlikely it means that for past 12 years no one noticed the switch wasnt functional as expected is itself concerning

is a boeing...nuff said

UK Civil Aviation Authority
SN-2015/005: Fuel Shutoff Valve – Mandatory Actions on Boeing Aircraft













https://www.caa.co.uk/our-work/publications...tent/sn-2015005

This post has been edited by countingcrows: Jul 15 2025, 01:22 PM