The crash in India involved Boeing's fantasy aircraft. What is a security record? – National
The deadly air crash involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft has led experts in the air industry to describe the disaster as “confusing” given the aircraft's safety record.
Shortly after departure, Flight 171 of India crashed on Thursday in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, with more than 240 people on board.
At least 240 people were killed, including medical students colliding in a medical school hotel, according to Vidhi Chaudhary, the highest state policeman who spoke to the Associated Press.
The plane in the crash was the Boeing 787 Dreamliner: a wide-body, twin-engine aircraft that had never been involved in such a serious incident.
It's a completely different aircraft from another Boeing aircraft, the 737 Max, which involved multiple fatal disasters and then rooted around the world in critical flight sensor systems and related software that repeatedly forces the aircraft into dangerous promises.
These aircraft are now resuming service, just like Fantasy Parallel, flying by airlines around the world, including Air Canada.
“The 787 Dreamliner has been an aircraft that has been in operation for many years and has no problems in large states around the world,” said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation.
“So, from the design and safety perspective of the aircraft (IT) is indeed safe, and it is confusing that this crash happened at this time.”
Earlier Thursday, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told the Associated Press that there appeared to be no survivors carrying more than 240 people in the plane crash.
However, Chaudhary and India’s interior minister Amit Shah later confirmed that there was a survivor on the plane.
The All India Association of Medical Associations, a national institution representing resident doctors, said at least five students were killed on the ground and another 50 were injured.
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While this is the first major event for the 787 Dreamliner, the plane has problems in the past.
Last year, federal safety officials needed to check cockpit seats when the captain's seat tilted forward without warning and disconnected the aircraft's autopilot system.
The 787 fleet also began in 2013 when its lightweight and faster charging times used a lithium-ion battery that could cause fire in some cases.
But, John Gradk, professor of aviation management at McGill University, said these issues are part of using the plane, not focusing on the traveler’s stuff.
“It's a mechanical device, and it's not something magically placed on the earth, we drive it, and we hope nothing will happen,” he said. “So the process we have to maintain and ensure the operational integrity of these mechanical devices is intense.”
He added: “This aircraft has been a great example of mitigating risks and ensuring that the aircraft is capable of completing tasks safely over the past 15 years.”
India's aviation regulator said the plane sent a Mayday phone call on Thursday, marking an emergency, but then did not respond to calls from airport traffic control.
The factors investigators investigated during the crash are likely to be that American aviation safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said there are several factors that are playing a role in the aircraft crash investigation.
“We were trained to answer three questions at the end of the process,” said Brickhouse, who worked with the National Transportation Safety Commission. “These three questions are: what happened, why, and most importantly, how to prevent it from happening again?”
He said the investigation looked at people related to the incident, such as pilots and air traffic control, aircraft in environments such as weather and airports, and the machines themselves.
This includes analysis of flight and cockpit recorders.
Gradk said the investigation is crucial to identifying the cause of the crash and excluding it as a “Boeing problem”, especially after past concerns about aircraft manufacturers.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with Boeing that was placed in the case for alleged misleading regulators’ misleading of the 737-MAX JETLINER and ahead of the 2018 Lion Air crash and the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash.
The company agreed to pay or invest more than $1.1 billion, including $445 million for families of crash victims, eliminating the risk of criminal convictions that would jeopardize the company's status as a federal contractor.
“What you want to make sure is that whenever you have a Boeing incident, in which case you get to the root cause quickly… and make sure you make sure the public knows what that root cause is and don’t be afraid to point your finger at yourself,” Gradk said.
Shahidi said that after the plane crash, it is understandable to be alert to traveling by plane, but stressed that the 787 Dreamliner is a safe plane and has been flying for years – its first flight was in 2009, adding that the same statement can be said on most flights.
“There are thousands of flights flying every day, and there is no problem around the world,” he said.
“So, I think it is certainly a time for reflection for passengers, but it also has to be noted that we have a very safe air transport system.”
According to the International Air Transport Association's annual safety report, only seven of the 40.6 million flights in 2024 were fatal.
Brickhouse said it proves the safety of this form of travel.
“If you get to the airport and your plane is there, you have to believe that everything is in order,” he said. “I always tell people that once you get to the airport, the most unstable part of the trip is actually over.”
– Documents with the Associated Press
