Ahmedabad Crash: What really happens to a plane after a crash?

India Today

Do crashed planes get rebuilt? Repaired? Scrapped?

Transcript

00:00When a plane crashes, the wreckage may be twisted, burned and unrecognizable.

00:04But that's just the start of a long and intense investigation.

00:07So what exactly happens after a plane crash?

00:10First comes the emergency response.

00:12Rescuers rush in to save lives, secure the area and prevent any further danger.

00:17Then the investigators take over to begin a detailed forensic process.

00:21Their top priority is finding the black box, the fly data recorder and cockpit voice recorder

00:25which hold vital clues to what went wrong.

00:27Next, every piece of the wreckage is photographed, tagged and mapped.

00:31This helps investigators reconstruct the crash, not digitally but physically.

00:36In major crashes, the plane is often partially reassembled in a secure hanger like a massive 3D puzzle.

00:41Take the case of TWA Flight 800.

00:44A short circuit ignited fuel vapors in the center wing tank causing a mid-air explosion.

00:49Investigators painstakingly reconstructed the wreckage to pinpoint the exact cause.

00:53And that reconstruction was used as a training tool for over two decades until it was decommissioned in 2021.

01:00In the case of AI-171, depending on what the fly data and voice recorders reveal,

01:04a full reconstruction may not be necessary, investigators say.

01:08The importance of wreckage varies by accident, say investigators.

01:11For Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014,

01:16it was crucial. Reconstruction of the nose revealed clear sharpening damage from a Russian-made missile.

01:22But the planes are never rebuilt to fly again.

01:25Occasionally, wreckage stays in place as memorials or is preserved if significant.

01:29Example, paths from LockerWise, Pan Am 103 have been stored for legal investigative offers.

01:35But no, planes don't get a second life.

01:37But the information they carry helps save countless others.

01:40Every bolt, every panel, every second of audio, it all helps to make aviation safer.

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