The modern plane to London that crashed in India shortly after taking off

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner From Air India that covered the route between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff this Thursday. According to Reutersin the device 242 people were traveling, and the authorities believe for the moment that more than 200 have lost their lives. Identification and rescue tasks continue on the ground, while an investigation has already been launched that could be extended for months. The accident has returned to Boeing in the focus of attentionin a context in which the company still drags the consequences of several delicate episodes, mainly Those related to your 737 Max Aircraft Family.

A key model for Boeing, without mortal claims so far

The 787 Dreamliner was one of Boeing’s biggest technological bets so far from the century. As the company itself saysentered service in 2011 with All Nippon Airwaysand since then it has accumulated more than 1,000 units delivered to airlines around the world. The model is present in the fleets of companies such as Qatar Airways, British Airways, Singapore Airlines or Air India, that operates about thirty units.

Aviation Safety Network records indicate That until the AI171 flight accident, the Dreamline had not registered any mortal sinister in commercial operations. A trajectory that had reinforced its image as a modern, efficient and reliable aircraft For long -range routes. As Flightglobal points outbased on Cirium data, the plane involved was delivered to Air India in January 2014. Specifically, it had accumulated more than 41,000 flight hours and about 8,000 peeling and landing cycles, a figure within the usual for an apparatus of that age.

The 787 marked a turning point in the way of manufacturing commercial airplanes. The American firm explains in A document about its innovation initiatives which is the first Boeing model designed from scratch with a structure mostly composed of composite materials, such as plastics reinforced with carbon fiber. This would allow you to save about 20 % of weight compared to traditional fuselages, which translates into lower fuel consumption and greater autonomy.

One of the particularities of 787 Dreamline is that it can be equipped with Two types of enginesaccording to the choice of the airline: the General Electric Genx-1b or the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. Both share several key features: high derivation ratios, lower fuel consumption, reduced emissions and advanced constructive technologies, such as the use of compound materials or 3D printed components.

What is known until now of the accident

Ai171 Air India flight took off from Sardar Vallebhbhai Patel International Ahmedabad at 13:39, local time, destined for London Gatwick. On board 242 people were traveling, including passengers and crew. Just a minute after takeoff, The plane signal was lost In flight tracking systems, when I had barely reached 190 meters altitude. According to the Indian Civil Aviation Authority, the plane reached an emergency call (may Day), But there was no subsequent response.

The apparatus hit the residential area of ​​Meghani Nagar, in the west of the city, crashing against a building used as Residence for doctors. Images disseminated by the authorities They show the tail of the embedded plane in the structure of the property

So far, the authorities have confirmed the recovery of at least 200 bodies and have transferred several injured to hospitals in the area. At first It was feared that there would be no survivorsbut later it was confirmed that at least one person had left the accident alive: a British citizen, According to disseminated information by local media like Hindustan Times

Among the passengers were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian. Air India activated a Emergency Care Center and established an assistance team for families. Ahmedabad airport temporarily suspended its operations.

Boeing answers while the questions grow

Hours after the accident, Boeing issued an official statement in which he claimed to be in contact with Air India and have activated his technical assistance protocols. “We are in contact with Air India in relation to flight 171 and we are ready to provide support,” The company pointed out. He also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and the personnel involved in emergency tasks.

As we pointed out above, the American manufacturer had not registered any mortal sinister with the 787 model in commercial operations. However, the accident occurs in a Delicated moment for Boeingwhich remains under the scrutiny of regulatory organizations and the sector itself by a series of incidents linked to other production lines, especially that of 737 Max.

Between 2018 and 2019, two fatal accidents of that model (Indonesia and Ethiopia) caused the death of 346 people and forced the global immobilization of the entire Max fleet. More recently, in January 2024, A door cap (door plug) It was released in full flight in a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines, which revived the questions about manufacturing quality and internal supervision protocols of the firm.

It is still too early to know what happened exactly with flight AI171. Investigations on accidents of this type require time, technical analysis and International cooperation. For now, there are no sufficient indications to attribute responsibilities either to the airline or the manufacturer. The analysis of the black boxes will be decisive to understand what happened on board in the last minutes. Until then, any conclusion would be premature.

Images | Daniel Eledut | City of North Charleston | Edward Russell | H. Michael Miley (CC By-SA 2.0) | CISF

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