Air India crash: SC criticises initial report pointing to pilot error
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday voiced strong reservations over the AAIB’s preliminary findings on the June 12 Air India crash, describing parts of the report as “irresponsible.”
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh issued notices to the Union government and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on a petition demanding an independent, impartial, and time-bound investigation into the incident.
The bench was reviewing the July 12 preliminary report, which pointed to potential errors by the pilots of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171.
Appearing for aviation safety NGO Safety Matters Foundation, led by Captain Amit Singh (FRAeS), advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that the credibility of the probe was questionable since three members of the inquiry panel were drawn from the DGCA, raising a possible conflict of interest.
The petition further noted that the AAIB report blamed the crash on the fuel cutoff switches being moved from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff,’ effectively attributing responsibility to the cockpit crew. It also alleged that the report withheld key evidence, such as the complete Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) logs, full Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts with timestamps, and Electronic Aircraft Fault Recording (EAFR) data. The apex court emphasized the importance of confidentiality, privacy, and dignity in handling sensitive flight data, while acknowledging that a final report would eventually be necessary. It also cautioned that premature disclosure of certain details could be misused by rival carriers. However, the bench clarified that its intervention was confined to ensuring that the investigation remains transparent, unbiased, and credible.
