The Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad, India, last week killed hundreds of people. There was just one survivor among the passengers, and the reason for the crash is unknown. Several aviation experts have suggested suggestions, and now Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager turned whistleblower, has spoken up.
Speaking to NDTV, he said that ‘chaotic and unsafe production’ in facilities might have been to blame. Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed into a residential neighborhood shortly after takeoff late last week. The plane came to a halt in a dining area at BJ Medical College, where medical students were enjoying lunch. Following the disaster, Air India issued the following statement on social media: “Air India confirms that flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick was involved in an accident today after takeoff.”
“The flight, which left Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, carried 242 passengers and staff members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
“Among these are 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national, and seven Portuguese nationals. We are transporting the injured to nearby hospitals. We have also established a dedicated passenger hotline at 1800 5691 444 to provide more information. Air India is fully cooperating with the authorities investigating this incident.”
Theories regarding the Air India disaster
More than 270 corpses have been found at the scene. Specialists from India, the United Kingdom, and the United States are still conducting the inquiry, and they have recovered the black box and cockpit recordings. The first focus was on engine failure, as well as problems with the wing flaps and landing gear, to determine the reason.
Various explanations have been proposed regarding the plane accident, with one expert, Dr. Sonya Brown, suggesting that film of the disaster indicates that the jet stalled. “It appears that there has been a considerable loss of thrust. Thrust effectively makes you go faster, and aircraft lift is proportional to speed squared, so if you don’t have thrust and lose speed—and radar data shows it was losing speed after the initial short climb—you can stall,” Brown said, adding that the cause of the lack of thrust is unknown.
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has a lengthy history of safety issues. Ed Pierson, a high-level Boeing manager at the time, became a whistleblower after observing the hazards in how Boeing manufactured the 787 model. He even testified before the United States Congress in 2019, indicating that he had raised safety problems with the 787 Max version.
A Boeing whistleblower speaks out regarding the Air India accident.
For example, he saw that employees worked long hours, which caused safety issues, and they would occasionally push pieces to fit together to fill gaps. Boeing disputed the charges.
In an interview with NDTV, Pierson suggested that the manufacturing process, which he described as “chaotic and dangerous,” might have contributed to the Air India tragedy.
“It’s possible,” Pierson remarked. “Because of the problems he identified, that’s how the plane had been built for a long time, so the testimony that he gave and I gave that day all preceded this India accident.”
“We rushed to build planes…” Employees were pressured to work overtime. There were concerns with components, aircraft systems, functional system testing, and electrical system testing, specifically…
He said, “There were several signs of chaotic and unsafe manufacture.” We were rushing to finish the planes and ensure their timely delivery. Employees were pressured to do their task. There were component difficulties. We were having problems with our aircraft systems, as I recall. I remember feeling quite anxious about the excessive risks we were taking.
“That’s a little bit of a concern.”
Pierson, now an aviation safety advocate with the organization Aviation Safety, indicated that the organization had constantly monitored the production process. The production process encompasses not only 787s but also other aircraft. And we’ve noticed a troubling trend of concerns that we don’t feel are being addressed in a timely manner.”
The former Boeing manager continued by stating that it is now difficult to draw any conclusions about what occurred.
“Until the data recorder (i.e., the black box, which has been recovered and the contents of which are being analyzed) is processed, we will not have the information we need to make a definitive conclusion (on what happened to AI-171). “There is a lot of stuff we don’t know,” he explained.
Ed Pierson concluded, “What particularly stood out was the story of a passenger who indicated they had flown a couple of hours before the tragedy. He stated that all systems, including air-conditioning, were not functioning properly. (However, there are backups, so those systems should always operate.) So that is a little concerning. Uncertainty remains, but further investigation is necessary.
Let’s send all our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.