After the recent crash of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner near Ahmedabad, a former US Navy pilot and aviation expert has raised the possibility that the tragedy may have been caused by a dual engine failure.

Captain Steve Scheibner, who has over 20,000 hours of flying experience, shared his updated findings in a new video. He says clearer footage of the crash suggests that both engines may have stopped working shortly after takeoff.

Previously, Scheibner believed that the pilots may not have set the flaps correctly during takeoff, one of several possible reasons for the crash. He had also mentioned a bird strike or fuel contamination as other possibilities.

However, after analyzing a clearer rooftop video of the Air India flight moments before the crash, he said he now believes a rare and dangerous double engine failure could be the main cause.

In the video, Scheibner pointed to a small object visible beneath the aircraft, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT). This emergency device is only deployed when a plane loses electrical or hydraulic power, often due to engine failure.

"You see, kind of it looks like a protrusion on the belly of the aircraft...just underneath, you see a little gray dot it almost looks like an artifact on the screen. That little gray dot is the RAT," he explained.
 "This is visual confirmation that the RAT was deployed," he added.

Scheibner also highlighted an important audio cue in the video — a "high-pitched squeal" heard just before the crash.

"It sounds like a high-pitched prop, like a Cessna going by," he said. This sound, he explained, is typical of a RAT in action.

But he also pointed out a concern: “It’s not designed for an airplane that’s at 400 or 500 feet and loses all power; there’s no time to get the engines restarted.”

Notably, the Air India flight had reportedly climbed to about 625 feet before it went down.

The only survivor of the crash had said he heard a loud bang and saw the cabin lights flicker moments before escaping the wreckage. According to Scheibner, this description matches what usually happens during RAT deployment in the event of a sudden power loss.

Scheibner made it clear that while evidence strongly suggests engine failure, the exact cause is still not confirmed.

He added that the final answer could lie in the air traffic control recordings, which might reveal what exactly led to the pilots' urgent Mayday call.

With investigators still working to understand what happened, the aviation world continues to wait for official confirmation of what caused this tragic crash.

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