The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is “totally unbiased” and is carrying out a definitive, thorough and rule-based probe into the June-12 Air India crash in Ahmedabad, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
“There are multiple theories floating, respect process of investigation. AAIB has been successful in decoding data from black boxes of the Air India plane that crashed last month. We want to stand with truth, not anything else,” Naidu said.
Amid world wide speculations on the crash, Naidu said “we want to find out what exactly happened in the Air India plane crash and that will come out only after AAIB final probe report.”
Responding to supplementaries, the minister said the AAIB has been successful in decoding data from black boxes of the crashed Air India plane. “AAIB follows a definitive, rule-based process, totally unbiased in probing the Air India Ahmedabad plane crash,” Naidu said.
In a statement issued last week AAIB slammed the US media reports for its “selective and unverified reporting” blaming the senior captain.
The constant media reports in the west pointing fingers at Captain Sumeet Sabharwal on basis of some information from US authorities, saw AAIB slamming “irresponsible” drawing of “conclusions” through such reports.
Speculation in sections of the foreign media regarding the cause of the crash is “unfounded” and “premature”, AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar said in his first public statement since the crash of Boeing 787-8 aircraft (registration VT-ANB), which killed 241 of the 242 people on board.
“It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing,” he said.
Titled ‘Appeal’, the statement followed The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claiming that Sabharwal turned off fuel switches moments before the crash, which leading to anger
The WSJ report said the US assessment was based on black box data and speculated on whether Sabharwal’s actions were deliberate or accidental. It added that such details could lead US authorities to examine potential criminal liability had the crash occurred on American soil. Yugandhar also urged people and media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative procedure
“It is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew of the aircraft, and other deceased persons on the ground,” Yugandhar also wrote.
He also appealed to “all concerned to await publication of the final investigation report after completion of the investigation. AAIB will also publish updates as and when required, which have technical and public interest.”
