AI Crash: Boeing 787 Power Disruption From Water Leak Under Probe, Attorney Highlights Redundant Systems

AI Crash: Mike Andrews, an attorney within the Beasley Allen law firm representing 85 families of the Air India accident in Ahmedabad states that the documents given by Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration point towards a series of redundant systems, in this aircraft (Boeing 787), namely in the case of water leakages in and around electrical equipment that may affect electrical continuity.

“Documents available from FAA – the U.S. federal agency that regulates civil aviation – and Boeing indicate that there are defects in the coupling systems in parts of water supply and water tanks above, around and adjacent to electrical equipment rooms…reports speak of water leaking in the areas that can affect electrical continuity and cause short circuits," Andrews said in an interview to CNN-News18.

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When the press wondered whether or not Andrews will sue Boeing in a US court, he responded that what occurred here can be attributed to a manufacturing or a design defect. “If we can determine that it is a causative factor here, we will be certainly looking at holding those issues responsible," he said during the interaction.

Access to Air India and Boeing data On accessing Air India and Boeing data

He is questioned on whether he has access to airline data belonging to Air India and Boeing the attorney said, “We have not been given access to flight data recorder yet. We have been able to locate copies from Boeing and FAA which refer to previous issues with 787…We don’t know yet what caused the issues here. This aircraft has multiple redundant systems in both engines and throughout the plane."

Speaking of the access of data, he proceeded to say that in the case of Air India, he would look into maintenance reports, information on whether parts have been replaced or not, information on any part replacement in the water line or water system.

He continued to say that the best evidence to be investigated in this crash would be the flight data recorder. “Beyond that service bulletins from Boeing, maintenance records from Air India, records from the FAA regarding prior incidents of the 787 are crucial evidence that will allow us to put the puzzle back together."

When asked about whether or not he was contented with the preliminary investigation report of AAIB India, Andrews responded that they have published a request of the release of the data by AAIB. “We are looking into the final data. We think AAIB’s preliminary report is open to speculations as only small piece of information was released. Whenever context is derived from small piece of information it can be misinterpreted," he added.

Commenting on the fact that the blame of the crash of AI171 is placed on the pilots, Andrews said that indeed it seems to be a low-hanging fruit. “It is easy to blame a deceased pilot who cannot speak for himself. But here we feel there is a broader issue going on so blaming pilots is premature and speculated."

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The desires of the families What the families want

Andrews is acting on behalf of 85 crash victims families and she has visited Ahmedabad recently, the place where the flight AI171 tragically crashed. He also met with relatives to understand their issues as well as having a meeting with sole who braved the crash.

“Each family has asked us for transparency and accountability…they want to know what happened, why it happened and how to prevent this from ever happening again. There were earlier some issues with the administrative set up of the compensation package but that appears to have improved, however, there are families that are running into bureaucratic type issues in receiving compensation, having to go through multiple steps and paper works," he said.

“Our focus has been on helping them understand the process going forward and what information we need to have," Andrews added.

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