'A crash-proof plane!': Air India crash spurs engineers to design AI-powered outside 'airbags' for planes

In the aftermath of the June 2025 Air India crash in Ahmedabad, two engineers have developed a strikingly unconventional safety system: outside airbags for airplanes. The concept, called Project REBIRTH, is a finalist for the prestigious James Dyson Award, which recognises world-changing inventions.

Described by its creators as the first AI-powered crash survival system, REBIRTH deploys smart airbags, impact-absorbing fluids, and reverse thrust mid-air, a combination they say could turn fatal crashes into survivable landings. “If a crash is unavoidable below 3,000 feet, the airbags activate automatically,” the project notes, adding that the captain can still abort deployment at that point.

The system was designed by Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan, students at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science’s (BITS) Dubai campus. They say the Air India Flight 171 tragedy, which killed 241 of the 242 people aboard just seconds after takeoff, was their inspiration. “After the June 2025 Ahmedabad crash, my mother couldn’t sleep,” one of them wrote. “That helplessness haunted us. Why isn’t there a system for survival after failure?”

The technology relies on AI sensors monitoring altitude, speed, engine status, fire, direction, and pilot response. In an emergency, layered fabric airbags shoot out from the nose, belly, and tail within two seconds, cocooning the fuselage. Reverse thrust or gas thrusters slow descent, while fluids inside the cabin harden on impact to reduce injuries.

The inventors stress that the system can be retrofitted to existing aircraft as well as installed in new planes. While no release date has been set, they hope to partner with aerospace labs for crash sledge and wind tunnel testing. Winning the Dyson Award on November 5 would grant them more than $40,000 and the chance to take the project into development.

“This competition is our first step in bringing our vision forward — not for recognition, but with the hope that one day, it may help save lives when all else fails,” they wrote.