How can a plane crash just minutes after takeoff from a major airport like Ahmedabad?

Steven Haddock

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Studied at York University (Canada) Jun 13

How can a plane crash just minutes after takeoff from a major airport like Ahmedabad?

The leading suspect at the moment has caused crashes in the past but it’s almost unbelievable that it has happened - just like it was unbelievable every other time it has happened.

Some aviation experts who have looked at the footage of the plane pulling away from the airport don’t think that the plane’s flaps were properly configured. It’s not clear if they weren’t properly configured on the ground or whether this was some sort of post take-off adjustment.

Flaps are control surfaces that effectively make the wing thicker and increase lift at low speeds, allowing it to take off and land at relatively low speeds. At higher speeds they would slow the plane down so after the plane gets up to speed, the flaps are slowly retracted to “zero” to allow the plane to fly at its cruising speed. If the plane’s flaps aren’t set properly close to the ground, it’s “stall speed” goes way up meaning at those critical points it’s not getting any lift to the wings.

But there have been several flights where either the flaps weren’t set on the ground, or were retracted too quickly after takeoff, robbing the plane of lift.

Northwest Airlines Flight 255 - Wikipedia

1987 plane crash of an MD-82 in Detroit, Michigan Northwest Airlines Flight 255 Aftermath of the Flight 255 crash: Aircraft debris field scattered along Middlebelt Road. The near bridge is the Norfolk Southern railroad, and the far bridges are the I-94 freeway. Accident Date August 16, 1987 Summary Crashed on takeoff due to pilot error and improper flaps and slats configuration Site Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , Detroit, Michigan , United States 42°14′24″N 83°19′40″W  /  42.2400°N 83.3277°W  / 42.2400; -83.3277 Total fatalities 156 Total injuries 6 Aircraft N309RC, an MD-82 aircraft similar to the one involved, and in the same livery N312RC was in, at the time of the accident. Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas MD-82 Operator Northwest Airlines IATA flight No. NW255 ICAO flight No. NWA255 Call sign NORTHWEST 255 Registration N312RC [ 1 ] Flight origin Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport , Fort Snelling , Minnesota , United States (As Flight 750) 1st stopover MBS International Airport , Saginaw , Michigan , United States 2nd stopover Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , Romulus, Michigan , United States Last stopover Sky Harbor International Airport , Phoenix, Arizona , United States Destination John Wayne Airport , Santa Ana, California , United States Occupants 155 Passengers 149 Crew 6 Fatalities 154 Injuries 1 Survivors 1 Ground casualties Ground fatalities 2 Ground injuries 5 On August 16, 1987, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 , operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255 , crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport , about 8:46 pm EDT (00:46 UTC August 17), resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and 148 of the 149 passengers, along with two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is also the deadliest aviation accident to have a sole survivor, [ 4 ] [ a ] the deadliest aircraft accident in the history of the state of Michigan , [ 5 ] and the worst crash in the history of Northwest Airlines . The aircraft involved was a twin-engined McDonnell Douglas MD-82 ( registration number N312RC), a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and part of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series of aircraft. [ 6 ] : 1 The jet was manufactured in 1981, entered service with Republic Airlines , and was acquired by Northwest Airlines in its merger with Republic in 1986. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217 turbofan engines. [ 6 ] : 6 Flight 255's captain was 57-year-old John R. Maus, from Las Vegas , Nevada . [ 7 ] Maus was an experienced pilot who had worked for the airline for 31 years, flying Fairchild F-27 , Boeing 727 , Boeing 757 , McDonnell Douglas DC-9 , and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. Maus had logged 20,859 flight hours during his career, including 1,359 hours on the MD-82. [ 6 ] : 5 Other pilots who had flown with Maus described him

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_255

Spanair Flight 5022 - Wikipedia

August 2008 plane crash in Madrid, Spain Spanair Flight 5022 ( JK5022 / JKK5022 ) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Barcelona–El Prat Airport to Gran Canaria Airport , Spain, with a stopover in Madrid–Barajas Airport that crashed just after take-off from runway 36L at Madrid-Barajas Airport to Gran Canaria Airport at 14:24 CEST (12:24 UTC ) on 20 August 2008. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 , registration EC-HFP. Of the 172 passengers and crew on board, 154 died and 18 survived. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It was the only fatal accident for Spanair (part of the SAS Group ) in the 25-year history of the company, and the 14th fatal accident and 24th hull loss involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft. As of 2025, Spanair Flight 5022 remains the second-deadliest aviation accident in mainland Spain, behind Avianca Flight 011 . [ 3 ] The accident further worsened Spanair's negative image at the time [ 4 ] and exacerbated its financial difficulties. Spanair ceased operations on 27 January 2012. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Flight and aircraft [ edit ] Map showing crash location The aircraft, named Sunbreeze (registration EC-HFP; constructor's number 53148), had been manufactured in late 1993 and was acquired by Spanair in July 1999 from Korean Air . [ 7 ] [ failed verification ] There were 166 passengers and six crew members on board, including the 39-year-old captain, Antonio Garcia Luna, and the 31-year-old first officer, Francisco Javier Mulet. [ 8 ] : 6 [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Prior to the accident [ edit ] Fifty-nine minutes before the flight's second attempted take-off, the pilots had abandoned a departure because of excessive temperatures in the ram air temperature (RAT) probe. [ 8 ] The aircraft was taken to a parking area where maintenance workers de-activated the RAT probe's heater. [ 11 ] The aircraft was permitted to fly with an inoperable RAT probe heater because icing was not expected during the flight. [ 8 ] : 37–38 Another takeoff was then attempted, during which the accident occurred. [ 12 ] [ 8 ] The accident occurred during the second attempt, at 14:24 local time, [ 8 ] : 6 [ 13 ] due to the pilot's failure to deploy the flaps and slats as required for takeoff. [ 8 ] [ 14 ] Without the use of these "high-lift" devices, the wings could not generate enough lift to keep the aircraft airborne. [ Note 1 ] The MD-80 has a warning system (the take-off warning system or TOWS) that should have alerted the pilots that the aircraft was not correctly configured for take-off. However, the warning did not sound, and the pilots continued with the attempt. As the aircraft took off, it stalled and impacted the terrain right of the runway strip, disintegrating and bursting into flames. Just 3 seconds after liftoff the aircraft started shaking and banking to both sides. The stall warning horn activated as well as the synthetic voice. The first officer called in an interrogative tone an engine failure and reduced power on both engines, especially on the right o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022

British European Airways Flight 548 - Wikipedia

Passenger aircraft crash in 1972 due to pilot error British European Airways Flight 548 was a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels that crashed near Staines , England, United Kingdom, shortly after take-off on 18 June 1972, killing all 118 people on board. The accident became known as the Staines air disaster . As of 2025 [update] , it remains the deadliest air accident (as opposed to terrorist incidents) in British aviation history and was the deadliest air accident involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident . Initially, there were two survivors of the accident: a man who was discovered in the aircraft cabin and a female but both later died due to their injuries. The aircraft suffered a deep stall in the third minute of its flight and crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a busy main road. The public inquiry principally blamed the captain for failing to maintain airspeed and configure the high-lift devices correctly. It also cited the captain's undiagnosed heart condition and the limited experience of the co-pilot while noting an unspecified "technical problem" that the crew apparently resolved before take-off. The crash took place against the background of an impending pilots' strike that had strained relations between crew members. The strike had also disrupted services, causing Flight 548 to be loaded with the maximum weight allowable. Recommendations from the inquiry led to the mandatory installation of cockpit voice recorders (CVR) in British-registered airliners. Another recommendation was for greater caution before allowing off-duty crew members to occupy flight deck seats. Some observers felt that the inquiry was unduly biased in favour of the aircraft's manufacturers. Industrial relations background [ edit ] On Monday 19 June 1972, the day following the accident, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) had declared, as a worldwide protest, a strike action against aircraft hijacking , which had become commonplace in the early 1970s . Support was expected, but the British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA) organised a postal ballot to ask members at British European Airways (BEA) whether they wanted to join the strike. [ 1 ] Because of the impending strike, travellers had amended their plans to avoid disruption, and as a result Flight 548 was full despite Sunday being traditionally a day of light travel. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] BALPA was also in an industrial dispute with BEA over pay and conditions. The dispute was controversial, those in favour being mainly younger pilots and those against mostly older. A group of twenty-two BEA Trident co-pilots known as supervisory first officers (SFOs) were already on strike, citing their low status and high workload. [ 1 ] To help train newly qualified co-pilots, SFOs were told to occupy only the third flight-deck seat of the Trident as a "P3", operating the aircraft's systems and helping the captain (known as "P1" on the BEA Trident fleet) and the co-pilot ("P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways_Flight_548

Flap configuration is a critical part of any takeoff or landing checklist. Typically, on a take off check list setting the flaps appears about four times. They’re generally set even before the aircraft is pushed back, and they’re re-checked right before the plane lines up for takeoff.

In addition, if any part of the take off configuration is wrong, a very loud and distinct alarm starts the second the plane starts down the runway, often with an audio warning “CONFIG!”

So, if it was the flaps, the question becomes “why weren’t they set properly”. In most cases it’s because the pilots thought they had been and don’t double check. That can be:

• Plane has been subject to a lengthy delay (we must have done it before)
• Pilots are in a hurry (it’s on the checklist four times, we must have done it)
• Pilots have been on duty a long time and get less careful as they get more fatigued.
• Pilots are distracted by other issues, such as bad weather.
• Pilot has a serious medical issue, like chest pain or some sort of mini-stroke.

EDIT: Here’s a video by popular aviation Youtuber Captain Steeeve, which also seems to think lack of flaps may have been an issue.