ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Air India Flight 855

Air India Flight 855 was a flight that took off from Mumbai, India on January 1, 1978. It was supposed to fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates but unfortunately, the flight crashed into the Arabian Sea just a few minutes after takeoff. All 213 people on board, including passengers and crew members, lost their lives in the crash.

There are many different factors that can cause a plane crash, and the investigation into the Air India Flight 855 crash revealed that there were a number of things that went wrong. One of the main causes of the crash was a failure of the plane's navigation system. This meant that the pilots didn't have accurate information about where the plane was and what direction it was heading in. In addition, there was some confusion between the pilots and the air traffic controllers, which may have contributed to the crash.

Another factor that may have played a role in the crash was the weather. There was some fog in the area at the time, which could have made it more difficult for the pilots to see where they were going. However, it's important to note that while bad weather can make flying more challenging, planes are generally designed to be able to handle a variety of weather conditions.

Finally, there were some issues with the maintenance of the plane itself. After the crash, investigators found that there were problems with the plane's engines, and there had been some issues with maintenance in the past. While it's not clear if these problems directly led to the crash, it's possible that they played a role.

All of these factors combined to create a situation where the pilots were not able to safely navigate the plane, ultimately resulting in the tragic crash of Air India Flight 855. While this was a very sad and unfortunate event, it also led to improvements in aviation safety as investigators and airline companies worked to make sure that similar accidents didn't happen in the future.