The father of an Air India pilot who died in a tragic crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad has asked the Supreme Court to order an independent inquiry that will consider causes other than the pilot’s action, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The petition represents a major escalation in protests by the father and the pilots’ union over the government’s handling of the world’s worst air disaster in a decade, which occurred shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
In one of India’s worst aviation accidents, 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after an Air India Boeing 787-8 operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
Seeks probe by former SC judge
Sabharwal’s latest plea, which seeks an investigation by a panel of aviation experts headed by a former Supreme Court judge, comes weeks after he raised questions about the government’s probe.
Earlier, in a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister and AAIB Director General, Pushkaraj said selective leaks of information about the accident led to speculation that Sumeet, 56, was under immense psychological pressure and therefore contemplated death.
Sabharwal said two AAIB officials who visited him indicated that his son Sumeet Sabharwal cut off the fuel supply to the plane’s engine after takeoff.
The government has rejected such allegations, calling the investigation “very clean” and “very thorough”.
“Mainly focus on deceased pilots
On Oct. 11, the father told the court that the investigation team appeared to have “overwhelmingly focused on the deceased pilots … while failing to investigate or eliminate other more plausible technical and procedural causes,” said one of the sources who saw his filing.
It also called for the government investigation to be closed and handed over to a new panel headed by a former Supreme Court justice that would include aviation experts, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Federation of Indian Pilots Vs
The judges have yet to take up the case, which the Supreme Court website says was jointly filed by the father and the Federation of Indian Pilots against the government.
The investigation team appears to have largely focused on the deceased pilots while failing to investigate or rule out other more plausible technical and procedural causes.
The AAIB’s preliminary report showed that the Boeing Dreamliner’s fuel engine switches switched almost simultaneously from start-up to shutdown just after take-off.
(With inputs from Reuters)
