THE LAST TAKEOFF
Whenever we talk about a pilot who has been killed in a flying accident, we should all keep one thing in mind. He called upon the sum of all his knowledge and made a judgment. He believed it so strongly that he knowingly bet his life on it. That his judgment did not prevent the accident is a a tragedy, not a reflection of his capability, ability or skills. Every inspector, supervisor, and contemporary who ever spoke to him had an opportunity to influence his judgment, so a little of all of us goes with every pilot we lose.
The pilot took the decision based on all his years of training, tests and experience. His decision was based on all that he was taught and the challenge he faced. Remember even his life was at stake. His family was waiting for him.
30 SECONDS. Just thirty seconds is the flight time of AI 171 on 12 June 2025.
In 30 seconds, a normal human being cannot run 200 m – just two lengths of a football field. Try it. Let me know when you can do so.
30 seconds is what the two pilots had, in the cockpit of AI171 to realize, decide, take corrective action, inform and the ATC with a MAYDAY call…..using all the years of training and experience in flights, simulators, ground classes and a lot more.
In those 30 seconds, the aircraft had accelerated to 175 Knots (just a little over 324 Kmph, climbed to a height 425 feet above ground (127.5 meters, a little over one and a quarter football field lengths), and travelled over 2.5 kms. Got the statistics? If not, here are a few more.
(a) The maximum power generated is around 280-320 Kilo Newtons. Compare that to one of the fastest cars which has a thrust of just around 0.6 to 0.9 Kilo Newtons.
(b) The aircraft was carrying more than 1,25,000 litres of fuel. The maximum capacity of a vehicle on the roads is less than 100 Liters (1/1250 or 0.008% of that carried by the B787.
(c) The aircraft was cleared for takeoff. The standard calls would have been:
(i) ATC: AI 171, Winds XXXO / YY Knots, RW 23, cleared for takeoff
(ii) AI 171: Cleared for take-off AI 171.
That would set in motion a series of actions, checks and systems for takeoff in less than 5 seconds. That's all, not because the crew are in a hurry, but because the runway CANNOT be occupied for longer as another aircraft is lined up for landing in less than a minute behind the departing aircraft. AI171 aircraft would have been at full power as it left the runway. From then on, it was just about 10 seconds when the pilot gave a call of "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, NO THRUST, GOING DOWN".
If you still haven't realised the enormity of the challenge, lets slow it down. The total video from the time the AI171 leaves the ground till the crash is 30 seconds. That's what the world is talking about.
Now take a closer look at the video again. Use a stop watch and time out from the time the aircraft leaves the ground with 300 KILONEWTONS of power and a speed of more than 250 kms per hour, climbing to 425 feet above the ground attaining a speed of 175 Kts (324.1 Kmph) till the climb stops and flattens out………check your stop watch now. ITS MORE THAN 10 SECONDS.
It took you MORE THAN 10 SECONDS TO JUST READ THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE.
That's all the time the two pilots had to realize, decide, take corrective action, inform the ATC with a MAYDAY call of the desperation and threat to the aircraft and its occupants and avoid a crash.
For all the experts, activists, specialists, anchors, et al. That's all the time the two pilots had – 10 seconds. When you sit in your rooms, studios, conference halls, online sessions etc and pass comments and judgements, think again. Are you really doing any good at all?
The last two calls by the two crew would have been:
The Co Pilot: Cleared for take off AI 171
The Captain: MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, NO THRUST, GOING DOWN
There would have been other calls in the cockpit by the two pilots, but I assure you, you NEVER want to hear them. Not a single one. You will not sleep for at least a few days. Believe me, I speak from experience.
Pilots may come and pilots will go, but aircraft will fly on forever. But with every pilot that goes this way, as suddenly as the flight crew of AI171 did, some part of pilot also dies. Three and a half decades since I chose aviation as a way of life, and have flown more than 15 varieties of aircraft, I have seen many such sudden departures of mates whose call I would never hear on radio again, with whom I won't be able to celebrate life again, with whom I won't be able to enjoy the pleasures of life ever again, but each one still affects me, as I am sure it does to everyone who takes up the challenge of the third dimension.
Mankind looks at pilots as some different beings, from a different planet, who do what they do for fun and joy. They see the lifestyle and the fun, the adventure and the joy. But can they see anything behind this all? Behind this wall is a life of hard work, precision, sacrifices, missed events, events, sleep deprivation, disruption of meal schedules, fatigue and a lot more. A life where the smallest and first error could be your last. A life lived on the edge, but with an exterior that hides every machination and challenge that the pilot overcomes, creating an opaque wall that betrays nothing. Behind this wall that seems impregnable, a wall which tells the world that the man is inhuman and remains unaffected by anything & everything around him, that he will let this pass and take to the skies again, just because he loves to fly. For, the face won't ever betray the emotion, but deep down, with every accident that takes away one of their comrades from their midst in an untimely and sudden manner, a part of every pilot too dies. But he won't let you know, for his training and his call of duty doesn't permit him that emotion. He will therefore show THAT WALL TO THE WORLD AGAIN, and tomorrow each and every pilot will fly again. For that is what he is meant to do and that is his duty.
Nearly three and a half decades of flying, and yet on every day it happens, I see that it affects every pilot who still flies. From the first one in 1992, I have forgotten most, not by choice, but because there have been so many, that I just cannot allow myself to be affected by the numbers. I remember what I felt when I heard about Riar nearly three decades ago, as I did about Khurana, my course mates from NDA. And even on 12 June, I felt the same. That feeling, when you know they ARE NOT coming back, but you still hope that someone tells you some good news.
I could never show it, lest my friends and well-wishers, not part of aviation, would be affected by what I did. Yes, they do get affected. Since the accident, I have received innumerable calls and messages from across the globe. Some panicky as I could not be reached when I was flying. As I landed back in Mumbai at about 1930, my phone showed a large number of missed calls and messages. For a family with multiple pilots, all they wanted to know was our wellbeing. However, from at least one of the calls and messages, all I was hoping was for a hint that each and every crew and passenger on the flight has been found, safe and sound.
Sadly, before I could even make that effort to find out, my WhatsApp got me messages that none of them made it.
BREAKING NEWS, ONE MORE HEADLINE. That's all there was to it, as everyone made a beeline to the spot, shared photos and videos to be THE FIRST ONE ON SITE. No emotions, no empathy, no feelings for what the families would go through, seeing the gory images of their loved ones so far away, helpless, broken and devastated.
It is just over 48 hours since the unfortunate accident. On 12 Jun, after I landed in Mumbai and on the way home, I was angry and disappointed with what was being spread on media and social media. All I kept saying to each and every one who spoke to me was "Let's wait for the truth. That's the least you can do to pay respects to each of the departed souls on board AI171".
As I write these words, I am still hoping it's all a bad dream. Unfortunately, it's a nightmare. As I give vent to my emotions and anger, all I hope is that humanity does wait, wait for the correct & authentic information which the electronic equipment such as the DVDR, CVR etc will reveal. That is the only truth, nothing else.
For all those who have cast aspersions on the flight crew of AI171, at the cost of being inhuman, I will pray one day you too are placed in the same 10 second decision making situation, and then I will see how you handle it. That day we will talk. Till then, SHUT UP & wait. I hope common sense prevails and God gives you the sense to keep your views to yourself.
I never served with the crew on board AI171. But does it really matter. Another pilot paid a price. A higher price has been paid by his family and friends. He and his family won't be the last too. If God wanted man to fly, he would have given him wings to do so. The fact that he did not, and yet we do so, implies we are engaged in a business of what nature didn't design us for. THAT is the enormity of the task we have. Pilots….the very last line of defence in aviation. If they could not defend the crash, nothing else could have done so.
Today I too fly a civil passenger aircraft. Every time I look out of the cockpit at the aero bridge or the step ladder, I always find 15-20 passengers looking at me. I am sure they, in their own minds, are looking at me and saying to themselves, "this is the guy who I am trusting my life with and will take me home, to work, to vacation to my friends, well-wishers and relatives." Some wave at me, greet me after the flight. But each and every one of the ones on the aerobridge and step ladder reminds me of the enormous trust they place in us pilots, and the responsibility we have. THAT makes us all DO THE RIGHT THING …. EACH & EVERY TIME. LIVES…..of those who place theirs in our hands…..can there be a higher and larger responsibility? That's the task that aviation places in front of each worker who has stepped into aviation.
While news channels debate and engage "experts", and are changing headlines to the Iran Israel conflict, the caste census drama, whether Op Sindoor was a success, whether Tharoor is being unfairly targeted and whether a cabinet reshuffle will happen in Karnataka, the life of the aviators community in general, and that of a few families in particular, has changed forever.
And yes, with every pilot who will never become three dimensional again, and whose total landings are ONE LESS than total take offs is taken away from us, a part of every aviator, past or present dies with him.
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