SC Criticizes AAIB Report: "Irresponsible" to Blame Pilots Without Full Disclosure
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : Some aspects of the AAIB's preliminary report on the June 12 Air India plane crash, which indicated lapses on the part of the pilots, were "irresponsible," the Supreme Court said while hearing a public interest litigation.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the Ahmedabad plane crash. The petition demanded an independent investigation into the plane crash. During the hearing, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Central Government. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh noted certain aspects of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) preliminary report released on July 12. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Safety Matters Foundation, alleged that three members of the investigation panel formed after the crash were from the aviation regulator, raising the issue of conflict of interest. He demanded the release of information from the plane's flight data recorder, which could reveal the cause of the crash.
The bench, which advocated for a final report on the accident, said that the matter involves aspects of confidentiality, privacy, and dignity. Cautioning that releasing certain information could be exploited by rival airlines, the bench said it was issuing notice only on the limited aspect of a free, fair, impartial, and speedy investigation into the accident. The petition was filed by Aviation Safety NGO led by Captain Amit Singh (FRAeS). It alleged that the official investigation violates citizens' fundamental rights to life, equality, and access to truthful information.
The petition states that the AAIB released its preliminary report on July 12. It attributed the accident to the fuel cutoff switch being moved from "run" to "cutoff." This effectively indicates pilot error. It alleges that the report concealed crucial information, including the full Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) output, the full Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcript with time stamps, and Electronic Aircraft Fault Recording (EAFR) data. According to the petition, these are indispensable for a transparent and objective understanding of the disaster.
On June 12, an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The accident killed 265 people, including 241 passengers and crew. The 241 fatalities included 169 Indians, 52 British, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and 12 crew members.