‘Something was going on in cockpit

New Delhi: A serving commercial pilot, Arindam Dutta when asked about what may have caused the horrific Air India flight 171 crash says, “Until the black box is recovered and investigated, I can’t give you the exact details. It came to our knowledge that after takeoff, the landing gear was still down; it should have been up after 50 to 60 feet, and then it sank within 30 to 40 seconds.

“With a huge amount of fuel, at least 90-100 tons of fuel, that’s aviation gasoline - it’s highly inflammable in nature, and with a small spark, it will just be like a bomb. The safety audit will give us the proper reason.

“There may be two to three causes: mechanical, human error, or weather. During takeoff and landing, these two segments are very vital. “In those 30 seconds, the captain gave a mayday call, so something was going on in the cockpit, and during that period, he had the guts to give a call.”

Shortly after the Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed, reports of an accident near the city’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport started trickling in on a WhatsApp group of the airline’s pilots.

There was an initial shock, followed by complete silence, as the group members expressed disbelief that a Boeing Dreamliner, considered to be among the safest and best aircraft, had crashed.

The two pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, had more than relevant flying experience under their belt, these pilots said.

Captain Sabharwal’s experience of more than 8,000 flying hours translates to nearly a decade of experience, while First Officer Kunder’s experience of nearly 1,200 hours is nearly two years of flying experience, which is more than necessary for short-haul international flights between India and other countries, an Air India pilot told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity.

“The Ahmedabad-Gatwick route is a 10-hour direct flight, so two pilots were enough. International flights where the flying duration is more than 10 hours need 3 pilots, and when it is more than 14 hours, 4 pilots are on board,” the pilot said.