Noida (UP), June 12, 2025 (ANI): As the Air India flight AI171, carrying 242 passengers, crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, former IAF pilot and aviation expert Ehsan Khalid listed out probable causes that could have led to this tragedy. “Why wasn’t landing gear retracted,” the expert questioned.
00:00I think that the aircraft has a loss of power, which I don't understand, is why the landing gear was down, and the flaps of the position of which the performance was calculated.
00:16Visibly, the pilot-in-command, which was in control of the aircraft's nose, to control the flight from descending or continuing climbing.
00:27These two things didn't happen, because there was no sufficient power.
00:34This was a very dangerous situation, and what happened was the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and cars' data.
00:44But the visuals that came out, one thing is that the aircraft was flying on the ground.
00:57That means that there was no explosion in the air.
01:01The second thing, which is very clear, is that the weather was not such harsh weather, which can be a contributory factor.
01:10The third thing is that the whole visual is that the aircraft has a loss of power.
01:18The loss of power is one engine or two engines.
01:22This will be very difficult to say.
01:25But the power that was not sufficient to keep the aircraft flying.
01:29So, this is the loss of power, if we divide it in two parts, one is the technical engine.
01:40It is very rare that both engines have a loss of power simultaneously.
01:44The second thing is that it was in Hudson River.
01:48The loss of power was on both engines.
01:50But that was due to bird strike due to bird strike.
01:53Both engines have lost.
01:55This engine is very big from the Airbus 320.
01:58And bird hits, too, straight away from the two engines,
02:05to be finished in one minute duration, is very rare.
02:09So, it is very difficult to say that the technical fault is what can happen,
02:13which will lose the power of both engines.
02:16Loss will be lost.
02:17Will there be so big bird activity there?
02:20In Ahmedabad Airport, there are birds in the airport.
02:23But, is it that it was so much that the Airbus Boeing 787
02:27can end the engines by both engines of one-hand, quite unlikely?
02:32Quite unlikely.
02:33But that is one of the possibilities.
02:35Since, the news is that the pilot made a call was given.
02:41This means that the failure of the pilot was seen in the cockpit. If it was seen in the cockpit, that means that it was technically the fault of it. And these people had to combat, airborne.
02:58The thing that I didn't understand, is that the landing gear was down. And the flaps of the position was that the performance was calculated.
03:11The wings of the plane was behind a device, which lifts the lift.
03:18So, when the aircraft is taking off, the flaps is taking off and landing gear is down.
03:25As it is airborne, the landing gear is up.
03:29The landing gear is 30-50 feet above the landing gear.
03:37And in this case, the landing gear is down.
03:41The possibility that the aircraft's engine power loss was detected beforehand.
03:47Now, if there is a mix-up of pilot action in the cockpit, it will tell you that the CVR and FDR will tell you.
03:56But the visibility, which is coming, the pilot-in-command, which was in control,
04:01the aircraft's nose is on the top, to control the flight from descending or climbing.
04:08This two are not happening.
04:11It has a big plan.
04:13The point of that is there is no power.
04:15Or the flight configuration thing.
04:17It doesn't matter.
04:19Like the flight configuration, the flight configuration, it has no power.
04:21When the aircraft is very slow and the flaps are up,
04:26it will be again aircraft flying flying away.
04:30And the other thing is that everything is correct and not power will not be able to fly again. So these things are so variables that any speculation will be unjust for the pilots on board.
04:49Now, how is it going to be in the view of the pilots that the aircraft is trying to fly to the pilot and the aircraft is going to fall down and the pilot doesn't know why it is going to happen or the engines are not developing power.
05:05I, it is a very, uh, it is a very, uh, difficult scenario is this thing to guess.
05:12But, uh, FDR will say, there is a very big question that landing gear is why not.
05:22Because, uh, the news is, uh, the news is about the airplay.
05:37investigation की चीज है और किसी को भी speculate करने का हख नहीं है मैं यह बोल रहा हूं कि weather, hot temperature, runway यह सारा चीज performance aircraft के engine power और configuration पर depend करता है, engine power technically खराब हो सकता है, engine power bird hit के वज़े से भी जा सकता है और aircraft का configuration pilot के हाथ में होता है, क्या एक problem था या multiple problem था,
06:05अभी कुछ नहीं कहा जा सकता है, flight duration के हिसाब से fuel calculate करके fuel on board लिया जाता है, और fuel एतने 8-9 घंटे की flight के लिए 80-90 ton fuel जो लिया जाएगा, यह जहाज उसके लिए fully capable है, single engine aircraft पे भी take off करने के लिए capable है, यहाँ पे multiple problems हुए होंगे, सिर्फ एक engine के fail होने से 787 या 737 या Airbus 320 या
06:35कोई भी passenger aircraft crash नहीं करता है, so it is, यह fuel, obviously जाहिर है, इतना बड़ा, इतना distance है, तो fuel ज्यादा लिया गया होगा, और fuel ज्यादा नहीं, required होता है ज्यादा, तो उसी के हिसाब से लिया गया है, ground से कोई assistance नहीं मिल सकता था, except के ground forward कर सकता था, अगर जो bird hit का case है यह, grounds में observers होते ह
07:05and take off path पे, अगर उसके इलावा, ground कोई assistance नहीं दे सकता था, यह बात तो बिलकुल clear है, दूसरी चीज, pilot से चूक हुई थी, या नहीं हुई थी, it is very difficult to say, and it will be wrong to say at this part, at this time, number three, power failure था, यह aircraft configuration mismatch था, very difficult to say, FDR बोल सकता है, definitely weather contributory factor नहीं था,
07:32हाँ, hot temperature होने के वज़ा से performance थोड़ा degrade होता है, but they all cater for it, it is not, यह ऐसी चीज नहीं है, जिसके वज़ा से accident हो जाता है, तो ना fuel, ना aircraft, ना technology, everything is good, यह weather भी सही था,
07:47तो काफी baffling है के loss of power था, and aircraft, why aircraft was not able to maintain a climbing path, मेरे याद से, इस से बड़ी दुरगटना,
07:59on take-off flag, और कोई दूसरा तो है नहीं, और airbus यह, बोइंग 787 के लिए भी यह सबसे बड़ी दुरगटना है, और obviously यह take-off के बाद हुआ है,
08:29आइंगिल्स को देखेगा, लेकिन जो visuals आप हमें देखा रहे हैं, उसमें किसी भी तरह का, इस तरह का battery explosion वगएरा कोई चीज़ नजर नहीं आता है,
08:42और उस से aircraft के power loss से कोई कोई सरोकार नहीं है, एक तो यह, technology के लिए aircraft बहुत proven है, pilots trained है,
08:53लेकिन उसके बावजूद part of the game है, कि इस particular aviation में कुछ चीज़ें होती हैं,
09:01जो कि humanity पहली बार देखता है, और फिर उसके बचाओं में चीज़ें की जाती हैं,
09:08लेकिन यहाँ पर यह है कि pilot ने made a call दिया था पहले, और उसके बाद flight जो है, continue to deteriorate,
09:16किया made a call करने के बाद, there are, there have been few more mistakes, because it is likelihood,
09:22when you, when as a pilot seated in the cockpit, आप देख रहे हैं कि aircraft जो है,
09:28वो flyable नहीं है, तो क्या आप वही action करते हैं, जो कि उस वक्त करना चाहिए, या नहीं करना चाहिए,
09:35subject of investigation and it is very difficult to comment कि क्या सही है और क्या गलत उस वक्त हुआ था,
09:42unless आपके पास DFDR, CVR, ACARS के report नहीं आएंगे.
