An ex-pilot has revealed all the reasons that may be behind the numerous plane crashes that have happened recently.
Today (12 June), an Air India flight bound for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad tragically crashed into a residential area near the airport.
The plane lost signal just a minute after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport - police are now working to establish the number of people who have lost their lives.
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Unfortunately, this isn't the first aviation disaster to shake the world this year, as an American Airlines airliner collided with a US army helicopter in the air while attempting to land, killing 67 people.
A Delta Air Lines plane also ended up on its roof after landing in Toronto in February, though nobody on board was killed in this instance.
Now, a former pilot has given his opinion on the potential causes behind these incidents.
How and when did the Air India crash happen?
Air India Flight AI171 was bound for London Gatwick after taking off from Ahmedabad, western India on Thursday 12 June.
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But just a minute after leaving the runway and beginning its ascent, a Mayday call was issued by pilots, who had lost signal at an altitude of 625 feet.
The plane then plummeted and crashed into the BJ Medical College UG hostel in Meghani Nagar, Ahmedabad, which housed doctors.
It was confirmed that 50 medical students were stable, while four to five are currently missing, with two to three are in critical condition in HDU/ICU.
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) added that three to four relatives of resident doctors are missing, while the wife of a 'super specialist doctor' has been found dead.
Authorities reported that 242 people were onboard when the plane crashed, with 53 being British, and claimed that there appears to be 'no survivors' from the flight. This statement was later updated to one survivor.
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But why is this one of many aviation tragedies to take place so far in 2025?
Shawn Pruchnicki is currently an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University in the College of Engineering, and worked as a Delta connection pilot for a decade.
The crash investigator and accident causation expert spoke to MailOnline about 'the safety buffer' that has 'eroded in recent years' in the aviation industry.
Declining safety standards
The former pilot said that a drop in standards at airplane manufacturers saw planes with defects being passed.
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Pruchnicki claimed that it 'led to the deaths of 346 people in two crashes in less than six months in October 2018 and March 2019'.
He added that the alarm has been raised 'for years', and said that unsafe flying has also been more evident when it comes to commercial flights.
Distances between planes
The ex-pilot admitted that he was 'sorry to say' that he wasn't surprised by the news of the American Airlines flight's collision with an army helicopter in the skies of Washington DC, as he long feared that an accident like that would happen.
He recalled having a close shave himself, where he came within a few hundred feet of one another, either on the ground or in the air.
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"If planes come within a couple of miles of each other, we start to worry," he admitted, adding: "Any distance noted in feet counts as within a hair’s breadth of disaster!"
While flying for Delta Connection, he recalled the time that he landed at JFK and was told that the plane was clear to cross the runway.
"We had a gut feeling that this [oncoming] pilot – who possibly wasn’t familiar with the airport - couldn’t do what he said and so we decided not to cross and to stay where we were," he remembered.
The oncoming taxiing plane then 'blasted through' in front of them, as Pruchnicki added: "If we’d crossed the runway as directed, there would have been a collision."
He has pointed to the lapse in safety protocol in recent years (X)
Shortage of air traffic controllers
He admitted that he 'feels for these controllers' as thy are 'over-worked and over-stressed', while being in charge of people's livelihoods.
Reiterating that air travel is the safest mode of transport available, he admitted: "Unfortunately, several dramatic incidents in the last year have rattled public confidence in safety."
Promoting pilots with minimal experience
The expert spoke about his worry around both regional and national airlines hiring and promoting pilots 'with less experience than ever before'.
Pruchnicki spoke about the positive measures that must be put in place to 'address the problems' that keep popping up in the aviation industry, as we might face more tragedies if we stay idle.
He explained: "We need more qualified candidates in the pipeline for air traffic controllers.
"When the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends changes in the wake of their incident investigations they must be implemented," he explained, adding that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also requires greater funding to make it happen in the US.
The ex-pilot also pointed towards the development of technology as a way to assist pilots in the near future.
Topics: Air India, Travel, News, World News
Joshua Nair