Video of the Air India plane that in a residential neighborhood of Ahmedabad points to possible anomalies that aviation security authorities will examine to understand what caused the accident that killed at least 241 people.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner could not seem to get enough power as it ran through almost the entire length of an 11,000 -foot track, a distance that should be more than enough for takeoff, said Bob Mann, head of aviation consultancy RW Mann & Co.
This may have occurred due to an incorrect configuration of the aircraft before takeoff or erroneous weight data inserted in the plane’s computer system, which determines how much power is necessary to get flight, he explained. Mann warned that his opinions are unofficial and were not corroborated by data or the cabin recorders of the cabin, who have not yet been recovered from the site.
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“If the informed weight is larger than the real, you end up with a very aggressive takeoff,” said Mann. “If the informed weight is smaller than the real, you end up with insufficient power.”
The 787 landing gear has never been collected, which usually occurs shortly after takeoff, said Jeff Guzzetti, former head of US Aviation Administration Accident Investigation (FAA). He also said he would like to know if the flaps – Mobile panels along the wing that generate additional support during takeoff – were in the correct position, noting that it is possible that they have been mistaken rather than the landing train.
“There is no smoke, fire, engines or something. There is no apparent structural failure,” said Guzzetti. “It seems that the plane couldn’t climb after leaving the track.”
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This may have several causes, said Guzzetti, including flaps to have been raised instead of the landing gear or incorrect programming of the flight control computer.
“We just don’t know right now,” he said.
Mann said the flaps seemed to be positioned incorrectly, adding that trying to adjust the flaps late could lead to an aerodynamic loss.
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The Air India Dreamliner carried 242 passengers and crew on an Ahmedabad flight to London. There was a survivor.
Investigators of the US National Transport Security Council (NTSB) and FAA will travel to India to assist local government investigation into the accident. New clues should emerge when authorities recover the flight data recorder and the cabin voice recorder, the so-called black boxes that contain essential information about what was happening in the aircraft systems and with the pilots at the final moments of the flight.
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