Air India plane crash: What could have gone wrong?

Even as India and the rest of the world comes to terms with the devastating air crash that has killed more than 240 people on board and a some on the ground in Ahmedabad, there is a lot of speculation of what could have exactly happened. 

The aircraft, a Boeing Dreamline 787, flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed within a minute of taking off. Visuals show the aircraft leaving the runway and then rapidly losing height even as its nose gets pulled up and ends up in a massive fireball. 

Here is what several experts that The Squirrels spoke to said could have happened:

1.⁠ ⁠Plane was packed

The Dreamliner was full to capacity, with 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members.

2.⁠ ⁠Fuel tank was full

Given that it was a long-haul flight with no refuelling stop, the aircraft would have been give a full load of aircraft turbine fuel (ATF). Estimates say that the aircraft would have more than 100,000 litres of ATF.

 3.⁠ ⁠So it was already carrying a full load

With a full flight and fuel to fly non-stop, the aircraft would have likely been close to its maximum weight.

 4.⁠ ⁠⁠Angle of the flaps and airelons

An aircraft is like a bird, it needs to have its wings flaps at a particular angle when it’s trying to gain height. The angle at which the wings are kept is directly proportional to how much power it generates and hence how much fuel it consumes. 

5. The heat factor

⁠Because of the heat, fuel could have expanded by a minuscule percentage. But just enough to deny the plane the lift it needed at a particular point in its flight

6. Presence of terrain
⁠⁠If there were no buildings around , Pilot could have gone in for a horizontal ride for sometime. But with building around , he was forced to go for an abrupt vertical ascent and due to the weight he failed and gave a mayday call.

7.⁠ ⁠⁠Presence of VIPs

There were at least 15 VIPs on the plane, including a former chief minister of Gujarat. It could be that some measures were overlooked to accommodate the VIPs.

8.⁠ Were there signs?

⁠⁠A flyer has put a video on social media of the same aircraft going from Delhi to Ahmedabad where its AC wasn’t working properly nor was the inflight entertainment (IFE). So it means there was some technical snag already. Usually ACs and IFE very often fail, which do not compromise the safety of the aircraft. But maybe it did warrant a check. Perhaps since the flight was full, VIPs on board, some thing was brushed aside which must have happened earlier too