New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday described certain aspects of the preliminary Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) report on the June 12 Air India crash as “irresponsible” and issued notices to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation on a plea seeking an independent, fair, and expeditious investigation.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note of the preliminary report issued on July 12, which suggested lapses on the part of the pilots. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO Safety Matters Foundation, argued that the probe panel included three members from the aviation regulator, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns. He also sought the release of flight data recorder information to clarify the accident’s cause.
The bench emphasized issues of confidentiality, privacy, and dignity, warning that certain sensitive information could be misused by rival airlines. However, it limited its notice to ensuring a free, fair, independent, and expeditious investigation.
The NGO-led plea, filed by Captain Amit Singh (FRAeS), claims that the AAIB preliminary report violates citizens’ fundamental rights to life, equality, and access to truthful information. The July report cited the movement of “fuel cutoff switches” from “run” to “cutoff,” pointing to potential pilot error, but allegedly withheld crucial data including full Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) output, complete Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts, and Electronic Aircraft Fault Recording (EAFR) data.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 flight AI171 crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, killing 265 people, including 241 passengers and crew. The victims included 169 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and 12 crew members. Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national, was the lone survivor.
