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T here are rules that govern all facets of our life. Some are written by us while others follow nature’s rule, whether you like it or not it gets imposed on us and it happens in a cyclic manner. We have been paying a heavy price throughout, knowingly or unknowingly, if not today it will be at your door steps tomorrow.
We need rules to be followed, as the systems we define need it to function correctly. Leave those that are beyond our control to the unknown that we call nature, but those that are in our control have to follow, not by repeated mistakes but by the proper imposition of the rule of law. If this imposition does not happen no one has the right to blame anyone. Leave alone the pilots in the recent Ahmedabad flight accident who are not alive to defend themselves.
The recent Ahmedabad flight accident is a reminder for us to impose the rule of law to avoid the imposition of “The law of cyclic turmoil”. Else we brace ourselves to witness the same questions and answers for as long as this cycle continues.
They say the fuel switch was made off by the pilot. We hear if the engine is off, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) says the switch has to be made off and on to start the engine again. Can it be seen that these were the steps the pilot might have tried?
There is news that a few times in the past the engine has stopped even without making the fuel switch to cut off. There are instances of software glitch, FADEC fault etc which are already recorded in previous instances. As is the case with All Nippon Airways in 2019, Ethiopian airlines with Boeing 737 Max where faulty sensors wrongly fed the data to MCAS etc. Boeing 787 too has similar systems where it takes decisions and the data is provided by the sensors.
Now even after the switch is made on why only one engine fired up, and the other did not?
Boeing 787 is highly computerised, which means it makes many decisions according to its design. Even though the switch is mechanical, should the design allow a pilot to cut off fuel when the plane is about to take off, when there is no chance for the plane to manoeuvre in whatever scenario the switch was mechanically designed for?.
I know, myself along with many are propagating stories which may be or may not be closer to the truth. But as a layman and a favorite Air India traveller can’t I ask something that I think might be a case to study?.
So, can the Ahmedabad flight accident be scripted this way?
A software glitch or FADEC fault made the engine off seconds before take off. The Captain who knew the seriousness wanted to confirm with the other pilot and asked him “Why did you make the fuel switch cut off”. As in hindsight that is the only possibility in that cock pit that any sane human might assume. Meantime followed the SOP to make it off and on to fire up the engine. Though against all odds, even the time left for the plane to manoeuvre was miniscule, only one engine fired up. This is a mechanical issue, but I want to look at the system design,the sensors and the glitch. All those points to the manufacturer.
Boeing can give their answers or Air India has to force them to explain. This is why I am of the opinion that both have to own up to build trust with the customers. Or else we have to believe that we are sitting ducks and waiting for “The law of cyclic turmoil” to be imposed on us.
To break the cyclic turmoil we need to find these answers or else we are in the same loop of “The law of cyclic turmoil” to be enacted again. Will Boeing allow this to happen or Air India?history will never be kind any more unlike in the past. We are living in an era of Information Technology where people make decisions faster than ever.
We hope a re-investigation will break the cycle of turmoil.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.