Banner
Air India Flight 171 - Flawed EE Bay Water Ingress Theory

Air India Flight 171 - Flawed EE Bay Water Ingress TheoryRichard Godfrey, in many videos on the...

Air India Flight 171 Accident Summary - Key Findings

Air India Flight 171 Accident Summary - Key FindingsThe purpose of an air accident report is to...

Air India Flight 171 - Ask The experts

Air India Flight 171 - Ask The expertsAn open letter to H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and Chief...

Air India Flight 171 - The Vital Seconds

Air India Flight 171 - The Vital SecondsThe Timeline - Vital Seconds.This timeline is constructed...

User picture.
picture for Hank Campbellpicture for Tommaso Dorigopicture for Fred Phillipspicture for Hontas Farmerpicture for Robert H Olleypicture for Helen Barratt
Patrick LockerbyRSS Feed of this column.

Retired engineer, 79 years young. Computer builder and programmer. Linguist specialising in technical translation. Interested in every human endeavour except the scrooge theory of accountancy. Interested... Read More »

Blogroll
Air India Flight 171 Accident - The Most Probable Cause

In this article a combination of known facts and Newtonian mechanics is used to show that the most probable cause of the tragedy was a software fault.  Evidence is submitted which shows that the fuel was cut off by the aircraft's automated control systems and the switches were afterwards moved by a pilot as a perfectly proper corrective action.

Simplicity Versus Complexity
Air India Crash: Update #5 - It's Dust, Not Smoke

A few media content creators and commenters keep returning to the topic of the swirls of what they refer to as smoke which they claim can be seen in the airport surveillance footage of the Air India 171 tragedy.

To a very high degree of probability there was no smoke and no engine fire, nor any indication of engine damage.  Like so many airports around the world, Ahmedabad airport is very dusty.  Also, like many cities, Ahmedabad suffers from significant air polution1.
Air India Crash: Update #4 - Lessons From The Past

Lessons From Fact And Fiction.
Air India Crash: Update #2 - The AAIB Report Revisited

This is another update to my article Air India Crash: When 2 + 2 Does Not Compute, with evidence and argument in support of my assertion that the AAIB Preliminary Report is worthless.

"It is hard to imagine a text more likely to sow confusion and encourage speculation than the partial summary of the fate of the Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad" 
The Times, India1.
Air India Crash: Update #3

This is another update to my article Air India Crash: When 2 + 2 Does Not Compute with fresh evidence and arguments.

Many people assume, wrongly, that the chance of two identical engines losing power at the same time due to a component or systems fault must be billions to one.  Such occurences are indeed rare, but they do happen.

Deja Vu - A Warning About Possible Twin Engine Rollback At Takeoff

In 2009 there were two Boeing 777 incidents which resulted in no damage or injury, hence they did not gain much public attention.
Air India Crash: Update #1

This is an update with fresh evidence and arguments to my article Air India Crash: When 2 + 2 Does Not Compute .


The "smoke" at liftoff