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Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said the AAIB was doing a “very transparent and independent study” on the final report on the Air India crash, which killed 260 people.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu | File Image
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday affirmed that the final report on the June 12 Air India crash, which killed 260 people, would take some time, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was working in a “very transparent” manner on the matter. He said there was no manipulation or dirty business in the ongoing investigation.
“The final report is going to take some time. The AAIB is doing a very transparent and independent study on the final report. We do not want to pressure them into coming up with some hasty report. So they are going to take the necessary time for it,” the minister told reporters.
On June 12, a London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel building in Ahmedabad in one of India’s worst aviation disasters, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew and 19 on the ground.
‘No Dirty Business’
Naidu dismissed concerns over the ongoing investigation into the plane crash and said the probe was being conducted in a “very clean and very thorough” manner. “There is no manipulation, or there is no dirty business, happening in the investigation. It is a very clean and very thorough process that we are doing according to the rules,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“As far as the AAIB is concerned, it is the mandated authority to look into aircraft accidents. It follows a very thorough, transparent and independent approach, not influenced by anyone but just considering the facts,” he added.
He appealed to the public to remain patient till the final report is completed, saying it was too early to comment on the preliminary and the initial findings were not conclusive.
Concerns Over Crash Probe
His remarks came after the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) said the AAIB’s initial report on the tragic Air India crash appeared rushed and lacked clarity.
The AAIB’s initial findings stated that fuel supply to both engines of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft was cut off within one second, leading to confusion in the cockpit shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the other why he had cut off the fuel supply — to which the second pilot reportedly replied, “I didn’t.”
ALPA India President Sam Thomas said the language used in the report was “open to interpretation” and had led to unnecessary speculation in the media and aviation circles. He also questioned why the report was not signed by officials, calling it a basic lapse in process.
On August 29, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was one of the pilots of the ill-fated Air India Dreamliner, demanded a ‘formal investigation’ by the central government. He claimed that the selective leaks about the accident have led to speculation that Sumeet (56) was under tremendous psychological pressure and, therefore, was contemplating committing suicide.
The Supreme Court, on September 22, termed as “unfortunate and irresponsible” the selective publication of a preliminary report on the June 12 Air India crash, which outlined lapses on the part of pilots and paved the way for a “media narrative”.
(with inputs from PTI)
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
October 07, 2025, 4:55 PM IST
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