A chilling new video appeared to show the “total game-changer” moment that led to the horrifying Air India crash in Gujarat, India.
Just seconds after takeoff, it was already too late for the doomed flight AI171, which crashed into an accommodation building for medical students.
The Boeing 787 exploded and ended the lives of 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.
Highlights
- A new HD video may reveal the moment that led to the deadly Air India crash.
- Veteran pilot Steve Schreiber pointed towards a crucial emergency system deploying mid-air.
- He said the “little gray dot” in the video could the visual evidence.
- Passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the only survivor to walk away from the massive wreckage.
A new high-definition video may reveal the moment that led to the deadly Air India crash
Image credits: Captain Steeeve
As investigators attempt to determine the reason behind the devastating crash, veteran commercial airline pilot Steve Schreiber explained the possible cause after reviewing an HD-quality clip.
According to the aviation expert, the footage contains a seemingly minor detail that cannot be ignored. And that detail is a small grey dot beneath the aircraft’s right wing.
Veteran pilot Steve Schreiber, known as “Captain Steeeve,” says the video shows a crucial emergency system deploying mid-air
Image credits: Captain Steeeve
Steve, known as Captain Steeeve on YouTube, said he believes the grey dot is a visual clue that the plane’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed mid-air.
RAT is a last-resort emergency system designed to kick in only when a plane loses all engine power or suffers a complete electrical or hydraulic failure.
“Many airplanes have it,” explained the 63-year-old pilot in a YouTube video. “It is just behind the wing on the right side of the airplane, there is a little door that holds it in, and it looks like a little Evinrude motor, it’s a little two-bladed prop.”
Image credits: aviationbrk
In the case of the London Gatwick-bound Air India flight, its deployment likely signals a catastrophic dual engine failure, which is a rare and catastrophic scenario that may have sealed the aircraft’s fate within seconds of takeoff.
He said the “little gray dot” in the video could be a sign of the RAT having been deployed.
“That little grey dot is the RAT. The protrusion is the door that opened to allow the RAT to come down,” he added.
Steve believes the Ram Air Turbine (RAT)—a last-resort emergency power device—was activated just seconds after takeoff
Image credits: aviationbrk
Moreover, Steve said there is a particular sound heard in the video that may also be evidence of the RAT being deployed.
“A RAT makes a distinctive sound, it sounds like a propeller airplane going by, or a really high-pitched squeal,” he said. “It is basically spinning at the speed of sound to produce the energy, electrical and hydraulic, that it needs.”
The expert pointed to a "little grey dot" under the wing in the footage as visual evidence of the RAT
“If you weren’t looking at it, it sounded like a single-engine prop airplane just flew by,” he added.
He said the RAT was “originally designed as the absolute last resort, assuming there is going to be a dual engine failure at altitude” and was not “designed for an aeroplane at 400- 500ft.”
“But it is evidence for us,” he added.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kundar gave a Mayday call almost immediately after the plane left the ground
Image credits: OfficialJoel4_
The seasoned pilot, with nearly three decades of flying experience, believes the evidence points towards the Air India flight suffering dual engine failure.
“It is evidence for us it was dual engine failure, most likely. It could have been an electrical issue, it could have been a hydraulic issue, it could have been either one of those,” he said in his YouTube video.
Image credits: iAtulKrishan1
“But I think the fact that the airplane is mushing out of the sky gives the idea it was a dual engine failure.”
To further support his theory, Steve pointed towards the account given by passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was the only survivor to (literally) walk away from the massive wreckage still alive.
Passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the only survivor to walk away from the massive wreckage
Image credits: DD India
“Everything happened in seconds. I realized we were going down,” the 40-year-old survivor said last week.
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there,” he continued.
Image credits: Saurabh Sirohiya/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Steve said Vishwash’s account of the final moments onboard pointed towards dual engine failure before the explosion.
“He said just prior to the crash, he heard a loud bang and the lights flickered on the inside of the airplane. We have got a guy saying he heard a loud bang and the lights flickered, what would cause that? The deployment of the RAT,” the expert said.
Despite his analysis, Steve said he is open to further updates as the investigation continues
“It’s going to take over electrical and hydraulic, and as it does, the lights in the airplane would flicker,” he added.
Steve also said it was hard to believe that “both engines on a 787 would flame out at the same time.”
Although he was confident about the possibility of a dual engine failure, the top aviation analyst said he’s leaving the door “wide open” for further updates on what caused the crash.
“Losing the effective use of both engines immediately after take off is amongst the rarest of rare occurrences,” one person commented online
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