‘No lacuna warranting it’: Centre opposes court-monitored probe into Ahmedabad air crash
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has told the Supreme Court that there is no legal or factual basis for constituting a parallel or court-monitored probe into the June 12, 2025, Ahmedabad Air India AI-171 crash, asserting that the ongoing investigation is being conducted under a comprehensive statutory and internationally recognised framework involving multiple countries.
In a counter affidavit filed before the apex court in the batch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the air crash that claimed 260 lives, the AAIB said aircraft accident investigations are governed by the Chicago Convention, ICAO Annex 13, and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025, leaving “no lacuna” warranting judicial intervention.
“It is respectfully submitted that the statutory and treaty framework governing aircraft accident investigation constitutes a carefully layered legal regime… This constitutes a complete code, leaving no lacuna that could justify the creation of a parallel investigative body,” the affidavit stated.
The AAIB said the investigation into the AI-171 crash is being carried out by specialists from multiple disciplines, including aeronautical engineering, avionics, flight recorder analysis, metallurgy, aviation medicine, and human factors psychology, with participation from foreign investigation agencies and technical experts.
“It is respectfully submitted that the investigation of a civil aircraft accident by its very nature is an intensely technical, scientific, and specialised discipline,” the affidavit said, adding that such investigations are “scientifically and technically complex and time-consuming”.
According to the AAIB, India is not only the State of Occurrence but also the State of Registry and the State of the Operator, while the United States is the State of Design and Manufacture of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. It said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the US has appointed an accredited representative, while Boeing and GE Aerospace are participating as technical advisers. Investigation teams from the UK and Canada are also involved in accordance with international protocols.
The AAIB informed the Supreme Court that, out of the 66 mandatory investigative steps prescribed under ICAO Annex 13, it has already completed 49 events. These include securing and documenting the crash site, scrutinising maintenance and crew records, recording witness statements, collecting ATC, radar and weather data, downloading and analysing flight recorder information, conducting metallurgical examinations of failed components, examining safety equipment and reviewing organisational culture and human factors.
The affidavit said all technical testing has been completed, except analysis of data retrieved from one Engine Monitoring Unit, while six specialist groups are presently engaged in preparing the final analysis and report.
“In all probability, the investigation activities… are anticipated to be completed within approximately six weeks,” the AAIB stated.
It added that once the draft final report is prepared, it must mandatorily be shared with the accredited representative of the State of Design and Manufacture — the NTSB — for comments before the report is finalised and published under the 2025 Rules.
Rejecting allegations that interviews with family members of deceased crew were intended to attribute blame, the AAIB clarified that such interactions form part of internationally accepted investigation methodology.
“It is respectfully submitted that such an examination is not at all adversarial in nature and is intended to devise guidelines so that no such unfortunate incident happens in future. It is stated that… the said examination is not intended to foist any guilt, fault, or liability on the crew members,” the affidavit said.
The AAIB also defended the confidentiality of cockpit voice recordings and other investigation material, saying the 2025 Rules prohibit their disclosure except in limited circumstances determined by the Central government.
“Rule 17(5) specifically… provides that the audio content of cockpit voice recordings as well as image and audio content of airborne image recordings shall not be disclosed to the public. This is an absolute statutory prohibition,” it said.
The AAIB further submitted that its statutory mandate is confined to identifying causes and improving aviation safety, not fixing civil or criminal liability.
Citing its institutional track record, the AAIB informed the apex court that it has completed 218 investigations since its establishment in 2012, comprising 97 accident investigations, 120 serious incident investigations and one incident investigation.
“There is no warrant, whether on the facts or in law, for this Hon’ble Court to substitute or supplement this expert body with any judicial or alternative investigative mechanism,” the reply document said.
The affidavit has been filed in response to a batch of petitions, including one by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the Pilot-in-Command of Air India Flight AI-171, seeking an independent and court-monitored probe into the crash.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had granted the Centre three weeks to place on record the status of the probe into the Ahmedabad air crash after being informed that the AAIB investigation was in its final stages and that certain aircraft components had been sent abroad for specialised testing.
–IANS
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