Camilla Jessen
A sharp-eyed pilot may have identified a critical detail in the devastating Air India crash.
An aviation expert believes a small detail in crash footage could be key to understanding what caused the recent Air India disaster.
His theory focuses on a tiny part of the plane that may point to a serious emergency shortly after takeoff.
The Crash
On June 12, Air India Flight 171 crashed minutes after departing Ahmedabad for London. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, loaded with fuel for the long trip, went down just outside the airport in a heavily populated area.
The crash killed 241 passengers and several people on the ground.
The crash scene was devastating. Wreckage and debris spread across rooftops, alleyways, and streets, while heavy smoke filled the sky.
Only one passenger, 40-year-old British national Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, survived. He remains in critical condition.
A New Theory Emerges
As investigators continue their work, commercial airline pilot and aviation analyst Captain Steve Schreiber (known online as Captain Steeeve) has offered a possible explanation based on his own review of the crash footage.
In a video that has been viewed over 9.6 million times, Schreiber points out a dark blur visible under the plane, behind the right wing.
He believes this is the Ram Air Turbine, or RAT.
What Is the RAT?
The RAT is a small emergency device that deploys automatically in serious situations. According to Newsner, Schreiber explained that it supplies the plane with emergency electrical and hydraulic power when normal systems fail.
“There’s three things that will deploy the RAT automatically: a massive electrical failure, a massive hydraulic failure, or a dual engine failure,” he said.
Schreiber believes the most likely cause in this case is dual engine failure. He based this partly on how the aircraft appeared to lose lift just before the crash.
The Sound Clue
Schreiber also pointed to audio from the crash footage.
The RAT, he explained, makes a distinctive high-pitched sound similar to a small propeller spinning at very high speed. He claims this sound is audible in the video.
“It sounds like a propeller airplane going by, or a real high-pitched squeal. It’s basically spinning at the speed of sound to produce the energy it needs,” he said.
At this stage, Indian aviation authorities have not confirmed any cause, and the official investigation remains ongoing. The black box from the flight has been recovered and will be key in determining what happened.