Air India B787 crash Ahmedabad

[Saab34]

?? For the uninitiated?

 

[moa999]

?? For the uninitiated?

"Ram air turbine (RAT) is a small wind turbine that is connected to a hydraulic pump, or electrical generator, installed in an aircraft and used as a power source. The RAT generates power from the airstream by ram pressure due to the speed of the aircraft."

Basically a failsafe to give you some power for control systems in the event of engine or other power failure.

This still from the video going around reportedly showing RAT deployed beneath fuselage (not sufficient resolution for me), along with the audio which is reportedly consistent with a RAT

 

[RB001]

?? For the uninitiated?

Ram air turbine - Wikipedia

w.wiki

 

[jb747]

Looks to have only got to 625ft

The airport elevation is just under 200', so it's really about 400 feet above the ground. The speed and altitude are quite reasonable for a normal departure. Worth noting that they've taken off from a mid-field taxiway, leaving only about 1,800 metres of runway. Looks like there's works affecting the taxiway to the full length. That's short but apparently doable.

Doesn't look like flaps extended, gear still down.

You really can't pick the flaps. To me it looks like they have slats, and a small amount of trailing edge. That's quite normal.

Configuration is going to be interesting here.

Maybe, but I'm not so sure.

Photos coming out of possible a deployed RAT. What sort of failures after rotation would cause this to be deployed?

Loss of both engines or all three hydraulic systems.

?? For the uninitiated?

Ram air turbine.

View attachment 450380

Again. Maybe. You can perhaps make out the blades, and perhaps an open door, but not enough resolution to say.

 

[jb747]

I wonder if some similarities with BA38 crash, pilot retracted flaps to increase glide distance.

It doesn't work like that. In the BA case he retracted one stage (25 back to 20, I think), but the later stages of flap give a lot of drag, and not much extra lift. So, he was getting rid of some drag, without affecting the lift to any degree. Retracting flaps from a take off setting could well stall you.

The gear is normally selected below 100', so this has started going wrong very early. Either the gear wouldn't come up (hydraulics), or it wasn't selected. If you're pretty sure you're going down, you'd leave it.

 

[DejaBrew]

Thanks @Saab34, @moa999, @RB001 and @jb747 - realise now after seeing your respective posts that I did know what it was after all.

 

[RSD]

Thinking it through it would seem that it would have to be a major loss of thrust that has caused this? It still looks to be very much under control in the video - just descending when it should have been climbing away.

 

[Saab34]

Thinking it through it would seem that it would have to be a major loss of thrust that has caused this? It still looks to be very much under control in the video - just descending when it should have been climbing away.

Reports around that they have somewhat maintained centreline right down to the impact, so dual failure seems like an option.

 

[drron]

As to reports of survivors one report I saw was that those being put on trolleys and taken to a hospital were survivors on the grond not from the plane. The report said 44 bodies removed from the plane.
A later report says all on board perished.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/ahmedabad-plane-crash-all-242-passengers-and-crew-on-board-air-india-flight-killed-latest-updates-2025-06-12-994432

 

[Flyerwin]

Just saw the news. RIP. Sad day.

 

[Flyerwin]

Good initial analysis and breakdown based on info so far.

 

[markis10]

The airport elevation is just under 200', so it's really about 400 feet above the ground. The speed and altitude are quite reasonable for a normal departure. Worth noting that they've taken off from a mid-field taxiway, leaving only about 1,800 metres of runway. Looks like there's works affecting the taxiway to the full length. That's short but apparently doable.

FR24 are reporting a backtrack and then full length departure

We are continuing to process data from receiver sources individually. Additional processing confirms #AI171 departed using the full length of Runway 23 at Ahmedabad. RWY 23 is 11,499 feet long. The aircraft backtracked to the end of the runway before beginning its take off roll.

 

[RooFlyer]

Good initial analysis and breakdown based on info so far.

Lost me when he said, eight seconds in “….[B787] deemed crashable”

 

[DC3]

Deemed uncrashable and a heap of other stuff in that clip that sounds rather odd. Waffle.

 

[oz_mark]

Apparent video from another angle

https://twitter.com/x/status/1933162059556159903

 

[RSD]

Apparent video from another angle

https://twitter.com/x/status/1933162059556159903

It's a pity that small building masks some of the take off, but after it rotates and leaves the ground it seems to climbing under power until it just loses power without any visual indications of engine problems - other than the lack of thrust. No smoke, no flames - nothing.

 

[RooFlyer]

A survivor! From The Oz app:



……

 

[comehither]

The airline’s chief executive, Campbell Wilson, had just taken off on another Air India 787 Dreamliner bound for Paris, where he was to attend a key industry gathering.

Wilson’s flight was still over India when word of the crash came. About an hour into the flight, it made a U-turn back for New Delhi so the CEO could respond to the accident.

 

[comehither]

 

[jb747]

FR24 are reporting a backtrack and then full length departure

Makes more sense.