AI 171: No missing and misgiving:
Media Briefing of K Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation provided an insight into the nature investigation into AI 171 Boeing 787 -8 crash at Ahmedabad. The minister asserted that the Indian Aviation sector employs the highest degree of security protocols to ensure the safety of the passengers. He sought the help of the media in the investigations.
In the meanwhile the media has cast a host of theories on the crash; some of the views questioned the credibility of the Boeing and the safety standards. One has to take note that the relationship between Boeing and India is not limited to the procurement of Commercial Aircrafts. Boeing has made significant contributions in rendering new dimensions to the Indian Aviation Sector. They have research projects in India both in the academic and commercial arenas including a Joint venture for the manufacture of fuselages for the Apache Helicopters. Vertical fins for 737 category aircrafts are few of them. With more than 250 partners in India Boeing has a transaction to the tune of 1 billion USD employing more than 10000 persons directly and indirectly.
At this instance, it is pertinent to review the Communication-Navigation-Surveillance and Air Traffic Management Plan developed by Boeing and Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The Agreement for developing the comprehensive plan was signed in 2019. The decadal plan under US-India Aviation Cooperation Program was completed in 2022
Some of the Experts in some TV Channels in India and overseas had talked about the pneumatic controls of the aircraft. Some of the passengers even highlighted the malfunctioning of the electrical and Air conditioning systems.
As one of the first among the passengers of the Dreamliner in the inaugural flight between Kolkata and New Delhi, more than the rose flower gifted, the new aircraft was a transformation in the passenger comfort level. A week or so later the same schedule had to be cancelled for certain technical flaws. Then " E category aircrafts were new in India. The Captain who was from The Boeing gave a detailed account of the technical flaw of the aircraft. Curiosity on the mechanisms and development of the Dreamliner led to a better understanding of the manufacturing and collaborators
As some TV Channels had wrongly put across, 787 do not have pneumatic systems and are almost fully electrically operated. . The 787 series, as far as it was known in the initial days, were using the already existing ground units in most of the airports. Unlike some other aircrafts, the lights were not turned off for starting the engines as this series uses ground power units. Gearbox mounted engine starters. Architecture of the 787 series became a matter of curiosity.
Following the Ahmedabad accident, there was no mention of Pratt & Whitney in the whole discussions and reports. The 787 Series uses the Auxiliary Power unit supplied by Pratt& Whitney, No doubt, they can claim to be the pioneers in Auxiliary Power Unit Development for commercial air crafts of the category. The steady power supply is said to be of 450 KVA gas turbine APU, and is claimed to be worth for operations above 43000 feet. However, the highest Altitude heard from the captains is up to 42000 feet Altitude
Like APS 5000 for 787 series. Pratt & Whitney manufactures APS 3200 for Airbus A320 series; they supply the APU for Boeing 747 Series as well. So far their credibility remains unchallenged. It would be ideal to have their expertise made available in the Risk elimination model for future safety standards. In the aircraft, the 235V AC current is produced by four generators; APU systems form a secondary line of supplementary Power generation along with Battery support. The batteries are rechargeable and give power to the aircraft before the engines are started. If there was a power failure in the cabin before the engines started then the question of the Battery function would come into question. How did the AI 171 start during the ill-fated schedule will have to be answered by the Ground staff?.
Battery support and Ram Air Turbine automatically operate whenever a total Power failure occurs. Ram Air Turbine manufactured by Eaton Corporation, seemingly has to be tailor made for the all electric 787 series, to be activated automatically when a dire emergency situation arises. The conditions for such an automatic deployment occur when both the engines fail and as an when complete failures of electric and hydraulic systems become dysfunctional. RAT provides emergency power supply to open the doors. Role of Eaton in the production lines of 787 is not limited to Supply of RAT. Other products of Eaton used in the 787 include electric motors, Pumps, flow control mechanisms, fuel management systems, displays, Cockpit controls as well as load management systems. Eaton will certainly have system maintenance, and management protocols. Since the question gears have come under question, Eaton will have to look into as they provide hydraulic motors of the gears for the takeoff and landing, landing along with a Host of other components.
In the case of AI 171, the
assessment of the battery function during the preflight assessment would become
crucial. As per Boeing, they have demonstrated that 787 series can fly for
5hours and 30 minutes and land safely with a single engine and one generator in
operation. Complete failure of all systems and accident is a big question
before the users and manufacturers of the Components for the Dreamliner. The
Federal Aviation Administration that certified the electrical systems will
become answerable if the investigation points a finger on the design and
complete failure of the electrical systems. The expert opinions of nature
before the completion of the investigations will be a matter of serious concern
for both the US Government and the Government of India.
Also, as the Complaints against the Air Conditioning systems surfaced, it would be ideal for the investigating agencies to invite a technical explanation from Hamilton Sundstrand along with Maxon Group.
The technical review may also
include a hearing of Airbus industries on why they removed Pratt & Whitney
from the APU supply, while Boeing continued to rely on them/ Airbus now relies
on Hamilton Sundstrand.
The questions on the gears also need to be looked into on the design parameters of the taxiway and runway at all airports in India. Higher temperatures of the wheels may be taken into account. There is a deliberate effort from some scorners to point a finger at the First Officer; Pilot error should be considered only when all parameters and operational conditions were found to be in perfect order.
Questions will remain till the investigations are completed pertaining tp the maintenance crew, ground Staff, Operational Clearance, any outsider withing the premises and so on. The question will remain on the security and intelligence network of the airports
It is for the Civil Aviation Ministry, especially DGCA and Ministry of Home Affairs to gather all inputs and to narrow down the Reasons of the crash to any ground.
Packets of data on Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System - ACARS is more crucial along with Automated Engine Trend Data in the evaluation. What is the nature of Aircraft Condition Monitoring employed by Boeing in collaboration with the operator of the airlines Air India is not generally a matter of public concern. All these matters become a matter of Concern, when such a catastrophic incident of massive proportions occurs.
Eliminating Human errors in the crash is a herculean task. There is no room for Human errors or pilot error in a commercial aircraft. Human error in such a case can be treated as Sabotage or a terror plot unless the screening of the entire staff of two airports in this case removes even a microscopic threat to such a thought.
The onus of the catastrophe cannot be thrust on the Pilots as they rely on the display systems. After reaching the initial velocity V1, there is no other option than to lift off. Here, it has to be seen whether the operational failure happened during the acceleration to V2 as well. Lives were lost both on ground and of those in the aircraft. The Investigation report has to be a public document.
No comments:
Post a Comment