WEBVTT - Air India tragedy:  What went wrong?

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<v Speaker 1>Where do you think this went wrong? Why did this

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<v Speaker 1>Air India Flight AI one seven one? Why did it

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<v Speaker 1>come down?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think, Well, we're still trying to work that out.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a little bit of information available and more come.

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<v Speaker 2>We can tell that the aircraft wasn't able to stain flight,

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<v Speaker 2>and that could be because the engines weren't producing enough thrust,

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<v Speaker 2>or the lift devices might not have been producing enough lift,

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<v Speaker 2>or the extra drag of the landing gear may have

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<v Speaker 2>overcome both. There's a complex set of circumstances we're still

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<v Speaker 2>waiting to find out.

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<v Speaker 1>Malcolm Gladwell and his book talks about when you have

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<v Speaker 1>aviation disasters, it's not one thing, it's up to seven

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<v Speaker 1>things that may have caused this. Does that seem to

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<v Speaker 1>work in this case?

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<v Speaker 2>I think there'll be a lot of different circumstances it

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<v Speaker 2>contributed to whatever's happened. There'll be some pretty obvious direct

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<v Speaker 2>causal factors, and there'll be lots of other things in

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<v Speaker 2>the background that may have caused or contributed to that situation.

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<v Speaker 2>So that, yeah, there's a lot to find out. We're

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<v Speaker 2>looking forward to finding out some more information.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's your theory. Do you think that it's something

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<v Speaker 1>to do with the plane's wing flaps and the landing gear.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I'm ridding so many different things here.

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<v Speaker 2>There are a lot of theories, for sure, and it

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<v Speaker 2>m'd be pretty hesitant to speculate. Of course, we do

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<v Speaker 2>know that the aircraft wasn't able to sustain flight, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's most likely because it didn't have enough thrust to

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<v Speaker 2>overcome whatever other influences the aircraft had on it. And

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<v Speaker 2>we don't know why that is, but we'll find that

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<v Speaker 2>out soon.

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<v Speaker 1>If you could talk me through this based on what

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<v Speaker 1>you know, how did it manage to get up in

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<v Speaker 1>the air in the first place.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's the interesting concern. It had enough power to

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<v Speaker 2>get as fast as it needed to ground, enough lift

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<v Speaker 2>to get off the runway, and then for some reason

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<v Speaker 2>it wasn't able to continue flight. And there'll be something

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<v Speaker 2>that occurred or a set of factors that occurred to

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<v Speaker 2>result in that outcome, and we just don't know at

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<v Speaker 2>this stage.

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<v Speaker 1>There's been a lot of talk about how the flight

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<v Speaker 1>beforehand on that plane, the air conditioning wasn't working. In flight,

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<v Speaker 1>TV wasn't working, and that's been directly attributed to that

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<v Speaker 1>particular plane, and I think the flight going into India,

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't that have been a warning sign for people on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, like it could have been. That may well indicate

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<v Speaker 2>something to do with the electrical systems on the aircraft

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<v Speaker 2>may not have been working as well as they could

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<v Speaker 2>have been, But they could just be isolated incidents that

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<v Speaker 2>are not directly related at all. And we know that

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<v Speaker 2>aircraft from time to time have different parts of systems

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<v Speaker 2>not working, and sometimes it's okay to fly with them

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<v Speaker 2>and sometimes it's not. They're very strictly defined in operating

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<v Speaker 2>procedures that are approved by the regulators, and we expect

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<v Speaker 2>that their India would have met its obligations there of course,

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<v Speaker 2>so we just don't know at this stage.

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<v Speaker 1>And I understand it's not your position to speculate, but

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<v Speaker 1>from an aviator's point of view, for us that are layman,

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<v Speaker 1>would there have been anything on the instrument panel that

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<v Speaker 1>would have said something's wrong here?

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<v Speaker 2>Depending on which which part of the flight, whether it's

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<v Speaker 2>at the start of the takeoff or after the aircraft

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<v Speaker 2>became airborne, almost certainly there would have been warning signs.

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<v Speaker 2>What they were specifically in relationship of the aircraft systems,

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<v Speaker 2>It's hard to know, but the aircraft will almost certainly

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<v Speaker 2>have been telling the pilots some things about what was

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<v Speaker 2>going on that they could interpret.

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<v Speaker 1>So one, are the pilots at that stage in the

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<v Speaker 1>flight when you've got issues and he's putting out a

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<v Speaker 1>may day? Could that have helped?

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<v Speaker 2>In that circumstance? The may day was probably a last

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<v Speaker 2>ditch resort to tell people that something was terribly wrong

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<v Speaker 2>and that they were facing imminent danger. It doesn't directly

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<v Speaker 2>help solve the problem, but it lets everybody else know

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<v Speaker 2>that there's a problem and for them to be aware

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<v Speaker 2>and to enable the aircraft to do whatever it wants

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<v Speaker 2>to try and save itself.

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<v Speaker 1>From And how much information can they get out of

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<v Speaker 1>the black box? Does that wudle it down to the

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<v Speaker 1>ins degree? Will it give you an exact idea of

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<v Speaker 1>what might have happened here?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's a couple of different recorders. There's the flight

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<v Speaker 2>data recorder, and that records information about all the aircraft

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<v Speaker 2>systems and the configuration and some of the environmental conditions

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<v Speaker 2>that the aircraft was flying in. And that'll certainly help

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<v Speaker 2>understand whether certain systems are working, what was selected or

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<v Speaker 2>dialed or switched at the time, and how much thrust

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<v Speaker 2>the engines were producing, what selections were made, and whether

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<v Speaker 2>those selections were achieved. And then a copy voice recorder,

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<v Speaker 2>which apparently has been found as well now will tell

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<v Speaker 2>us what the pilots were saying and hearing, and that

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<v Speaker 2>will be very helpful as well.

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<v Speaker 1>And there's been a lot of talk about the miracle

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<v Speaker 1>survivor in seat eleven A, and I've read since this

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<v Speaker 1>occasion everybody now is trying to book their seat on

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<v Speaker 1>seat eleven A, which is interesting because I always was

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<v Speaker 1>led to believe the safest place to be was down

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<v Speaker 1>the back of the plane. And I did notice that

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<v Speaker 1>when I saw the incredible pictures that the rear of

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<v Speaker 1>the plane, which was sticking out of a building, was,

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<v Speaker 1>apart from you know, obvious scorch marks and dents, seemed

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<v Speaker 1>to be pretty intact. Is that true that the back

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<v Speaker 1>of the plane is always safer than somewhere like ELEBNA

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<v Speaker 1>and this was just an anomaly.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it was ahenomenally And we don't know whether

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<v Speaker 2>ELEVENA is the ex seat for every flight. It would

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<v Speaker 2>definitely depend on the circumstances of the accident as to

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<v Speaker 2>whether you want to be in the tail or up

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<v Speaker 2>the front. That's probably a personal opinion of course on that,

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<v Speaker 2>and this is purely just conjecture. But how do you

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<v Speaker 2>think he managed to survive? Is that right near a door?

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<v Speaker 2>Could that door of popped open? Yeah, he said he

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<v Speaker 2>was seated near an emergency exit, and what I read

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<v Speaker 2>from what he said, he's kind of thought he was dead.

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<v Speaker 1>He woke up and.

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<v Speaker 2>Walked out of the aeroplane. So yeah, it was quite miraculous,

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<v Speaker 2>Like you said that, who was able to survive that situation.

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<v Speaker 1>But now people obviously whenever there's an a crash like this,

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<v Speaker 1>people immediately get really concerned about aviation safety. But is

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<v Speaker 1>it still fair to say that aviation safety is among

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<v Speaker 1>the safest of any kind of transport. Yeah, that's right.

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<v Speaker 2>The data and the facts represent well that aviation is

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<v Speaker 2>a safe way of traveling, and we'd certainly pause to

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<v Speaker 2>consider which airlines you'd fly with from time to time,

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<v Speaker 2>and more often than not, you're going to be safe

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<v Speaker 2>as any other type of transport.

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<v Speaker 1>Mate, good to talk to you. Tell us a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit about your company aviation projects.

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<v Speaker 2>In my company, we provide trusted advice about airport planning,

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<v Speaker 2>development and operations. Aviation safety and airspace and fight procedure, design,