Air India crash: Who’s on the AAIB group that launched the report on Flight AI-171?

The Air India crash in Ahmedabad final month, which resulted within the demise of 260 folks, has put the highlight on the Plane Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) because it launched its preliminary report into the lethal crash on Saturday, July 12.

Over the weekend, a five-member professional group, led by 56-year-old Sanjay Kumar Singh, launched a
15-page report offering an in depth timeline of Air India flight AI171’s ultimate minutes, confirming that each engines shut down seconds after lift-off and that neither pilot acknowledged switching them off.

The AAIB’s preliminary report said that the
gas switches of the 2 engines have been minimize off instantly, with a time hole of 1 second after take-off. Nonetheless, the report hasn’t been in a position to decide why the gas cut-off switches for each engines moved to “cutoff” in-flight.

Whereas questions are nonetheless being requested in regards to the report, we transfer our focus to what precisely is the AAIB and the way succesful are they of coping with such conditions?

Understanding the AAIB

The Plane Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is a authorities company throughout the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Its principal objective is to probe plane accidents and critical incidents in India’s airspace. The company was arrange in 2012 with the aim of finishing up investigation into accidents, critical incidents and incidents. Actually, the AAIB’s mandate is strictly safety-focused: to forestall and to not punish.

By the way, previous to the formation of the AAIB, probes such because the Air India one, have been dealt with by the Directorate Common of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which additionally regulates airways. This might end in a bias, which led to the formation of the AAIB.

Till date, the AAIB has carried out investigations in over 150 crashes within the nation. It additionally probed the 2020 Kozhikode crash during which 21 folks died after the aircraft overshot the runway.

However, what are AAIB’s capabilities?

The AAIB is tasked to hold out investigations into classes of accidents, critical incidents and incidents. Rule 3 of Plane (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Guidelines, 2017 clearly states that the target of investigations carried out by the AAIB is prevention of accidents and incidents and to not apportion blame or legal responsibility.

In instances of accidents, the AAIB is liable for finishing up probes, which incorporates amassing proof such because the aircraft’s black bins, flight knowledge and witness statements. As soon as that is completed, the AAIB then presents a draft report. As soon as it’s consulted and deliberated upon, the ultimate report is made public and revealed on the official web site. The accepted ‘Closing Investigation Studies’ are additionally forwarded to the Worldwide Civil Aviation Group (ICAO), the specialised company of the United Nations, and the states collaborating within the investigation.

The AAIB additionally publishes security research once in a while.

The AAIB experiences are of significance within the aftermath of a crash or accident. It helps to enhance air security. Actually, suggestions made out of earlier experiences have helped in drafting newer guidelines, higher pilot coaching and even modifications in plane design.

Who’s who within the AAIB group probing Air India crash

Following
Air India flight AI171’s crash in June in Ahmedabad, the AAIB fashioned a five-member group to probe the incident. Right here’s who’s within the group and who’s heading it:

1) Sanjay Kumar Singh: Helming the group investigating the Air India crash is AAIB director director Sanjay Kumar Singh. He has a 15-year expertise in plane accident investigation and aviation security. At 56, Singh has managed investigations into 15 accidents or critical incidents and has overseen the classification of no less than 300 reported occurrences.

2) Jasbir Singh Larhga: Working with the AAIB for a decade, Larhga has been concerned in varied plane accident investigations, together with the crash in India’s Kozhikode in 2020. He additionally labored with the DGCA in addition to with Pawan Hans and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

3) Vipin Venu Varakoth: Varakoth is an Assistant Director of Air Security at DGCA based mostly in Mumbai for greater than seven years. He had additionally served as Air Security Officer for practically seven years, in keeping with his LinkedIn profile.

4) Veeraragavan Okay: An assistant director of air security at DGCA in Mumbai for near 4 years, he has additionally served as an Air Security Officer within the nationwide capital for 9 years. His LinkedIn web page reveals that he additionally labored as an evaluation engineer with Tata Consultancy Companies (TCS) for a bit of over a 12 months in Chennai.

5) Vaishnav Vijayakumar: An Air Security Officer on the DGCA, Vijaykumar has been a part of varied plane accident/incident investigations.

With inputs from businesses