Human Error Possible Factor for Crash

Hyderabad: Even as aviation authorities recovered the black box, which could help unravel the mystery of the Air India Dreamliner's crash over the next few weeks, aviation experts are divided over pinpointing the factors that grounded the beleaguered aircraft.

The loss of lift is considered to be the main cause of the crash. However, there was no unanimity over what caused the aircraft to lose lift —dual-engine failure following a simultaneous bird hit, power failure, fuel contamination or issues with automation.

Aviation expert Pilot Captain Steven R. Schreiber, a US Navy veteran and commercial pilot, who is popularly known on YouTube as Pilot Captain Steeeve, contrary to all theories, believes that the crash could have been caused by human error, especially by the copilot.

According to Capt. Steeeve, whose video on https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainSteeeve attracted 21 lakh views in 13 hours, the aircraft did not show any signs of abnormality until it took off. After the aircraft was in the air, he believed, the pilot flying (at the controls) might have asked the pilot monitoring (not actively flying the plane) to “gear up”.

Instead of pulling up the landing gear handle, the other pilot could have pulled up the flaps handle, retracting the flaps prematurely, Capt Steeeve speculated

“When flaps are pulled up prematurely, the extra lift that they help to produce on wings to keep the airplane airborne goes away,” he explained, following what he said were discussions with several other veteran pilots and instructors.

Since the aircraft had taken off just a few seconds back, the American aviation expert, who commands a Boeing 777, said it would be at its slowest speed and power usage at its near maximum. Being refuelled to the brim, and 242 souls on board, the aircraft was already heavy. The unretracted landing gear, which consists of heavy wheels that help the aircraft to taxi, produced a great drag effect, pulling it down.

As the aircraft began sinking, Capt. Steeeve speculated, the pilot might have deployed extra power to pull up the aircraft. Without knowing the mistake, he could have further pulled up the nose up the aircraft to gain height. But as the flying machine was at around 200 feet above ground, Capt. Steev surmised that the pilot did not have enough manoeuvring space.

An instructor at a Hyderabad-based flight training academy, however, differed with Capt. Steeeve. “The aircraft appears to rotate (take off), then level off or sink. That typically happens when there’s power loss right after takeoff, leaving pilots little time to respond.”

Some experts also speculated about the possibility of a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (Fadec) malfunction or electrical issue affecting fuel supply to both engines.

The experts also speak of the potential deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), a backup power source that is automatically deployed during complete loss of engine-driven electrical systems. Its appearance in the footage suggests the aircraft may have experienced a total power failure.

A senior airline pilot said, “If the RAT did come out, it suggests both engines may have lost power or there was a total electrical system failure — both are serious scenarios, especially during the takeoff.”

Community discussions on some forums supported the theory of a thrust-related issue, with no evidence of pilot error or flap configuration issues. The real cause could be known in the next few weeks after the aviation authorities analyse the data captured in the Black Box, which was recovered on Friday.