Order court-monitored probe into Air India crash, says petition in Supreme Court
Safety Matters Foundation has petitioned the Supreme Court for an independent investigation into the Air India plane crash, citing issues with the AAIB's report.
NEW DELHI: A non-profit, Safety Matters Foundation, has petitioned the Supreme Court to seek a court-monitored independent investigation into the London-bound Air India plane crash in Gujarat on June 12, contending that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report violated rules that require full disclosure of data related to the crash.
The foundation, through its founder, Amit Singh, a former pilot with 17,000 hours of experience on Boeing 777 and Airbus A320, contended that the July 12 interim report contained selective disclosures, such as paraphrased references to cockpit voice recordings without timestamps, without the full transcripts, or corroborative context.
The petition also questioned the composition of the probe team, saying three of the five members of the investigating team were from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air Safety – Western Region.
According to the petitioner, the aviation regulator was responsible for certifying the aircraft, overseeing its airworthiness, and monitoring operator compliance. Given that the regulator was itself subject to scrutiny in this case, the petition insisted that allowing its officers to dominate the investigation team resulted in a direct conflict of interest.
The petition, filed through advocate Pranav Sachdeva, sought all basic factual data pertaining to the accident to be made public, which includes the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) output, the full Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcript with timestamps, and all recorded fault messages and technical advisories relating to the aircraft in question.
It further sought for appointment of an independent investigator of sufficient qualification and standing to conduct the probe under the supervision and control of the top court to oversee and monitor the ongoing investigation.
“When citizens entrust their lives to air travel, they do so on the faith that the State will ensure a regime of transparency, accountability, and fairness in the investigation of accidents. A selective or compromised inquiry not only denies justice to the victims but also exposes future passengers to the same systemic risks,” the petition said.
On June 12, Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad crashed into a building soon after take-off, killing 260 people, including 19 people on the ground. Out of the 242 people onboard, one passenger survived.
AAIB released its preliminary report on July 12 that identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster, with fuel control switches found in the “cutoff” position triggering a global debate over whether pilot action or mechanical failure caused the incident.
The petition said DGCA had prematurely attributed the crash to pilot error while overlooking systemic faults that have resulted in violation of fundamental rights of citizens under Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
The petition pointed out that in 2018, the Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature in the make of planes involved in the present incident. However, it said, no steps were taken to ensure compliance since SAIB directions are advisory in nature and not mandatory.
The petition also said the flight data captured just before the takeoff recorded “Bus Power Control Unit (BPCU) gateway operation faults” on both the left and right sides. “BPCUs are central to the 787’s electrical and data distribution network, and a gateway fault suggests the inability to correctly transmit or receive control signals, including the ‘Run’ command to the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC),” it said.
The petition also cited a statement of the lone survivor of the crash - businessman Vishwashkumar Ramesh - that lights inside the aircraft began “flickering green and white” after takeoff, and within five to ten seconds the plane appeared “stuck in the air” before slamming into a building and exploding.
“These findings strongly support the ‘electrical disturbance theory’ whereby signal anomalies rather than pilot actions triggered the dual engine shutdown,” the petition said, seeking a deeper probe.
