The Air India Flight 171 crash has been the subject of investigation, with Richard Godfrey proposing a hypothesis that water ingress into an Electronic Equipment (EE) bay could have caused the tragedy. However, this theory has been disputed due to several flaws. One major issue is that the FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2025-09-12, which addresses water ingress in EE bays, does not apply to the aircraft in question, VT-ANB, as it was delivered to Air India in 2014, before the directive was issued. The directive specifically applies to 47 U.S-registered airplanes and is an addendum to a previous directive, AD 2016-14-04.
Furthermore, Boeing had already addressed the water ingress problem in the 787 series, including VT-ANB, by preventing potable water leaks, creating a barrier to leaks, and upgrading equipment protection against water ingress within EE bays. Even if water did enter an EE bay, the duplicated electronics on the left and right sides of the aircraft would have provided redundancy, making it unlikely that both systems would be affected in the same way.
Additionally, a serious fault causing smoke or dust to issue from the aircraft would not have self-rectified to allow the relighting of the engines. The investigation also cites a 2008 incident involving a Boeing 747-438, where water ingress caused a series of faults, but this incident led to design changes incorporated in the 787 series. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report on the 2008 incident recommended design changes, including protecting areas with vulnerable equipment, distributing redundant systems, and containing potential liquid sources.
In conclusion, while Richard Godfrey’s hypothesis is plausible, it is unlikely to be the cause of the Air India Flight 171 crash due to the lack of relevance of FAA AD 2025-09-12, the measures taken by Boeing to address water ingress, and the redundancy of the electronics systems. A more thorough investigation is needed to determine the root cause of the crash. The ATSB report highlights the importance of considering mitigation strategies, including protecting vulnerable equipment and distributing redundant systems, to reduce the risk of water ingress causing faults.