Yesterday, we saw the tragic crash of an Air India Boeing 787, claiming at least 290 lives (between those onboard and those on the ground). This is a huge tragedy, and understandably, people want answers, though an investigation will take time.
There’s one particular thing that some in the media have picked up on, which is baseless sensationalism, and I feel like it needs to be addressed. Several readers have brought this to my attention…
In this post:
“Nothing is working” on Air India Boeing 787 before crash
A Twitter/X user took to social media yesterday, having flown the exact same Boeing 787-8 with the registration code VT-ANB, on the flight prior to the fatal one. Specifically, he flew the Dreamliner from Delhi (DEL) to Ahmedabad (AMD), just before the plane continued to London (LGW). There’s no denying that this must be an eery feeling, and he’s certainly grateful to be alive.
Following the flight, he posted a few videos of “unusual” things that he noticed on the aircraft, and this has been picked up by international media. For example, the New York Post (I know, sort of a tabloid) posted a story with the following headline:
Shocking video reportedly shows power failures inside Air India plane hours before it crashed: ‘Nothing is working’
In the videos, he claims “nothing” in the cabin was working, including lights, air conditioning, and seat back monitors. He states “the AC is not working at all, and, as usual, your TV screens are also not working, neither is this button for calling the cabin crew,” and he also complains of “sweating like hell” because the air conditioning wasn’t working.
This guy has now been interviewed several times, sharing his insights about the condition of the aircraft, down to him analyzing the way the flaps moved during the flight:
“… I did not witness any issues when the flight took off. I felt something was unusual with the plane’s flaps outside. Experts will be able to decode this better… The ACs were not working properly when the flight was on the ground before taking off… At cruising altitude, I noticed that the rear part of the flaps was moving up and down repeatedly. However, many aviation experts have pointed out that it is normal for the ACs to be off to give the plane a better thrust. I tried to complain about it, but the crew was in a rush because the flight was almost ready for take off… Even after the AC was switched on, its temperature kept fluctuating… Even when we got on the shuttle bus after the flight, many other passengers exclaimed that the bus’s AC was working better than the flight’s.”
There’s absolutely nothing unusual here…
Obviously people desperately want answers about what caused the crash of this Air India Boeing 787. However, an investigation will take some time, and there’s no point in speculating.
Here’s something I can say with certainty, though — what’s being labeled as the “shocking” condition of the aircraft where “nothing is working” is unrelated to what may have caused the crash:
- He complains of the air conditioning not working; it was a hot day in Delhi, and this video was taken after the plane was pushed back, before engines started, so it’s standard for there to not be any air circulation during that time
- He claims that “nothing” was working, including the lights, but you can clearly see that lights at other seats are on
- Clearly there was an issue with this guy’s individual entertainment monitor and controller; yes, the cabins of Air India jets are generally in awful condition, and broken entertainment is nothing new
If non-responsive entertainment systems were an indicator of planes not being safe or airworthy, Air India’s entire fleet would likely be grounded.
The truth is that we have no clue what caused this accident, though I don’t see anything in the above videos that’s even remotely out of the ordinary. That doesn’t make it any less eery to fly on a jet right before it crashes, but…
Bottom line
One passenger took to social media to share his experience flying the exact Air India Boeing 787 that crashed, one flight before the fatal one. As usual, Air India’s cabins don’t look like they’re in great condition, but that’s all there is to see. There’s nothing “shocking” here, and there’s nothing that points to anything out of the ordinary.
Yes, air conditioning doesn’t work while a plane pushes back, and that can make the cabin warm. The only thing I see is a single broken entertainment screen and monitor, which is par for the course at Air India.
What do you make of this “shocking” video?
He said that the cabin air conditioning wasn't working on the previous Air India flight. Can you imagine what that must have smelled like?
Looking up that particular plane on flightradar24, it was consistently dalayed for almost all flights the days before. Could be maintenance, could be anything. Let’s wait for the experts to do their work, for them to make flying once again safer.
Entertainment systems on board not working is not at all “shocking”!!! A couple of months ago an Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam didn’t have entertainment system nor wi fi on board. This fact was communicated to us politely when we were boarding. So this is not an Air India specific situation. I am not saying AI legacy aircraft are all in the best of shape.
Re "If non responsive entertainment caused... etc...", it sometimes does, though not necessarily on Air India: The Peggy's Cove MD 11 crash, in 1997, of Swissair flight SR 111 was due precisely to the inflight entertainment not working, then arcing, creating a devastating cockpit fire. 229 dead.
Except for the fact that the guy who was the survivor of this plane crash said the lights started flickering right before the plane went down. Oh and there is reporting the pilot reported loss of power to ATC when they called mayday.
Just a reminder, the Entertainment console of Swissair 111 was the primary reason for electrical fire that doomed that flight.
While isolated, the passenger sharing images of inbound Delhi-AMD flight with no inflight screens working, could result in electrical issues.
eerie*
Another passenger without any knowledge of how commercial airplanes work.
The APU that is running AC for the cabin prior to engine start has to dedicate all its airflow to turning the fan blades to start the process of engine start. As indicated, this is why typically the airflow from the gasper vents stop during engine start. Furthermore, once the engines are started, the bleed air and packs need to be reconfigured for normal airflow...
Another passenger without any knowledge of how commercial airplanes work.
The APU that is running AC for the cabin prior to engine start has to dedicate all its airflow to turning the fan blades to start the process of engine start. As indicated, this is why typically the airflow from the gasper vents stop during engine start. Furthermore, once the engines are started, the bleed air and packs need to be reconfigured for normal airflow by the FO and this takes a few minutes.
Also, hot and high airports, and/or limited runways can force NO BLEED takeoffs to ensure meeting airfield performance, which means no airflow except via the APU until reconfigured for normal bleed configuration after take off and during climb segment of flight.
Don’t even comment on “flaps” movement during cruise. Highly probable this person can’t differentiate between flaps, ailerons, spoilers, all parts of the wing that move constantly during cruise flight based on turns, climbs, descents.
Former Airbus/ Current Boeing Pilot here…
The 787 does not use bleed air from the engines or apu. Yes the ac is off during engine start due to electrical power requirements .
Passengers were commenting on the A/C on the plane, compared to on the bus, as they left the aircraft after a 95-minute flight. So we get an explanation of why the A/C doesn't work well before departure.
sounds like another case of US empire capitalism, cost cutting, and whistle blowers having chronic "accidents"....
too soon, much too soon...
Unfortunately, one stereotype that can’t be associated with Indians is them being rational. And less one speaks about Indian media the better. You think Fox and OAN are bad, wait till you watch Indian news channels.
I am thinking or the sole survivor Vishwashkumar Ramseh, in seat 11A.
He walked away, with very few injuries. Apparently superficial.
Meanwhile he must be psychologically in bad state as it was traumatic.
There he is lying in his hospital bed with cameras and the press sticking microphones in his face.
Hopefully he has friends and family locally to support him until he is fit to return to the UK.
I can't imagine what it must be like to be the lone survivor to walk away from something like that. I'm hoping for the best for him.
Pretty incredible that he survived because seat 11A its next to the wing and almost on top of the wing box were the majority of the fuel its for that mega explosion.
My. thoughts exactly ... :)
he acknowledges that it is up to investigators to determine the significance of this information to the accident if any at all. That is a reasonable standard.
The chances are high that AI's maintenance and flight ops (pilot) procedures will be in focus; even though the 787 has had a lot of production issues, it is a stable platform which pilots know safely how to fly. something went terribly wrong.
Supposedly the black boxes have...
he acknowledges that it is up to investigators to determine the significance of this information to the accident if any at all. That is a reasonable standard.
The chances are high that AI's maintenance and flight ops (pilot) procedures will be in focus; even though the 787 has had a lot of production issues, it is a stable platform which pilots know safely how to fly. something went terribly wrong.
Supposedly the black boxes have been recovered which is not a surprise given that the tail of the aircraft was intact in a building.
I suspect there will be some quick indications of what went wrong which will shed far more light than the speculation that always follows accidents.
I agree with your last paragraph but I’m not sure about parts of the first. This sub-fleet of 787-8s is a decade+ old when the issues with this model were a little more profound. They had grounded them for a while. I had flown on some of these and they were subject to many cancellations. The platform may not have overarching problems but I don’t think that’s the correct depth of analysis. In fact, AI...
I agree with your last paragraph but I’m not sure about parts of the first. This sub-fleet of 787-8s is a decade+ old when the issues with this model were a little more profound. They had grounded them for a while. I had flown on some of these and they were subject to many cancellations. The platform may not have overarching problems but I don’t think that’s the correct depth of analysis. In fact, AI maintenance has had a better record than this sub-fleet so I’d argue Boeing is a bigger area of scrutiny. Just like many other problems recently.
I agree with you.
This particular aircraft is an early build 787 that was reportedly parked for a number of years and then had to incorporate revisions that were later required.
and there are later build 787s that have had to be reworked after manufacturing with concerns that some of concerns that were raised about manufacturing processes at that time could affect those aircraft later on.
Aircraft are not like cars where there are thousands...
I agree with you.
This particular aircraft is an early build 787 that was reportedly parked for a number of years and then had to incorporate revisions that were later required.
and there are later build 787s that have had to be reworked after manufacturing with concerns that some of concerns that were raised about manufacturing processes at that time could affect those aircraft later on.
Aircraft are not like cars where there are thousands that are mechanically or technically identical so that large portions of a production run can be recalled if something is found to be wrong.
whether that was an issue w/ this particular aircraft will come out in time but I suspect early indications will show issues that are not specifically related to the 787. I, of course, could be wrong.
This plane is old enough to have gone through D check. That means the plane got taken apart, a myriad of parts inspected and replaced, and reassembled.
The AC not working while on the ground in northern Indian summer is brutal. Temperatures could rise up to 45C+ (or 113F+), and apparently this week reported a heat wave in the region.
Just to add further from my experience of flying dozens of domestic flights in India during summer, planes are typically cooled even during taxiing. So it’s quite unusual that the AC was not switched on.
Ben just want to say that I always appreciate that you take an extremely level headed and reasonable approach to things. Incredibly rare in online commentators.
Everyone wants to get that few minutes of fame. Off course it could also be because of pure ignorance about how aircrafts work but then again the Indian media are not doing themselves any favors by giving air time to such New York Post/The Sun level of journalism
That said, this should also be a wake up call for Air India to maintain their cabins. They are in deplorable conditions, especially in their older...
Everyone wants to get that few minutes of fame. Off course it could also be because of pure ignorance about how aircrafts work but then again the Indian media are not doing themselves any favors by giving air time to such New York Post/The Sun level of journalism
That said, this should also be a wake up call for Air India to maintain their cabins. They are in deplorable conditions, especially in their older aircrafts. The lack of any willingness of fix them or clean them is astounding, even when it has been awhile since privatization. I flew VT-ANT and VT-ANE last year, both in terrible conditions
This event was related to their cabins? A "wake up call" about their cabins because the aircraft crashed?h
I roll my eyes...
@LAXLonghorn Read again both the article and contents of my text because clearly you didn’t comprehend it
Sensationalist nonsense. What a chud.
This adds zero. It is like a tabloid.
As you point out at the end I don't think anything is that unusual. Also the person directly infront of him is watching a movie on the IFE which suggests their screen was working.