- By Supratik Das
- Tue, 17 Jun 2025 06:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a shocking new development in the ongoing investigation into the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash at Ahmedabad, aviation expert Captain Steve states that the plane's Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed just before impact, which is a definitive sign of a potential dual-engine failure or total electrical, hydraulic failure. This revelation has added a vital new dimension to the probe into India's worst air crash in more than a decade, which killed at least 274 people, including 30 people on the ground, when the aircraft crashed into the BJ Medical College complex just 32 seconds after takeoff on June 12.
Senior aviation analyst and ex-US Navy pilot Captain Steve Scheibner, who has flown more than 20,000 hours, posted a fresh video analysis of the crash. He refers to footage where a "small grey dot" can be seen on the belly of the aircraft, which he indicates is the RAT.
“In the middle of the circle, you see kind of a protrusion on the belly of the aircraft… just underneath that, a little grey dot — that’s the RAT,” Scheibner said. He also analysed audio taken from the crash video, picking up a clear high-pitched whine, typically of a rotating turbine. "That sounds like a little Cessna roaring by, that's the RAT rotating," he said, observing no sound of the jet engine's normal roar, which indicates loss of thrust. The sole survivor, 40-year-old British-Indian Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was flying back to the UK, described hearing a "loud bang" and watching cabin lights blink just before the plane crashed. This description is consistent with the kind of sudden power disruption that triggers RAT deployment.
What Is RAT And Why Is It Important?
The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is a tiny, fan-shaped unit on the belly of the aircraft. It is designed to deploy automatically in case of a complete loss of engine power, electricity, or hydraulic systems. The aircraft's movement provides airflow to drive essential emergency systems like flight instruments, lights, and primary flight controls. Captain Steve also asserted that the RAT is never used under regular circumstances. Its presence on the AI-171 jet indicates a catastrophic systems failure within seconds of takeoff.
DGCA and Air India's internal safety board investigators are currently re-investigating aircraft telemetry and flight data recorders (black boxes) for simultaneous engine failure, electrical, or hydraulic failure. They also asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and the dispatcher for the plane that crashed last week as part of its investigation into the incident. The existence of the RAT and its implications are the focus of the current investigation. Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) have both been recovered earlier and taken for investigation.
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India's Deadliest Aviation Accident In Decade
The accident has made shockwaves run across India and the international aviation community. Among the fatalities were two pilots, ten crew members, and over 200 passengers comprising children, old people, and foreign nationals. Over 30 individuals, mostly medical students and staff in the college compound, lost their lives on the ground. The plane crashed at 1:38 PM, just two kilometers from the runway. The investigators have estimated it had a mere 32 seconds of flying time before the tragic fall. The Boeing 787-8, tail number VT-ANW, had completed over 8,000 flights and logged 41,000 flying hours before the crash. It was operating as Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London.