Authorities investigating the deadly Air India crash that killed at least 270 last week believe the doomed flight was using an emergency-power generator.
The preliminary finding has raised questions into whether the plane’s engines were working properly at the time of take-off.
The Boeing was not much more than 400ft above ground when the two pilots experienced pilots onboard apparently lost power in both engines.
They then had 17 agonising seconds to wrestle with the controls before their state-of-the-art plane smashed into a medical college packed with doctors, sending a fireball soaring into the sky.
As investigations into the disaster are underway, one focus of the probe into the crash is whether the plane suffered a loss or reduction of thrust.
A fire officer stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13
Emergency systems used in planes are known as ram air turbines. They are small propellers that drop from the bottom of the plane’s fuselage to operate as a backup generator.
These emergency systems usually deploy automatically in flight if both engines have failed or if hydraulic system pressures are low.
Sources close to the investigation suggest that findings from the crash indicate that the plane’s flaps and other flight-control surfaces had been configured for takeoff, the Wall Street Journal reports.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
