Air India crash: Emergency tech deployed post-takeoff
After takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, an Air India Boeing 787 suffered a major power failure—India's deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade.
Investigators confirmed that a Ram Air Turbine (RAT), a small emergency propeller tucked into the plane's body or wing, popped out automatically to help keep key systems running.
What is the Ram Air Turbine (RAT)?
When all main power is lost, the RAT spins in the wind to generate just enough hydraulic or electrical power for essentials like flight controls, radios, navigation tools, and cockpit screens.
Globally, this tech has helped save more than 2,400 lives by giving pilots precious time to react when everything else fails.
Limitations of the rat
The RAT can only do so much—it keeps basic systems alive but can't bring back full engine power or normal flight.
In this crash, even with the RAT working as designed right after takeoff, there simply wasn't enough backup for pilots to recover control.