Centre evades all questions on Air India AI171 crash probe, says investigation on

The Centre on Monday sidestepped a series of questions on the investigation into the Air India AI171 crash in Ahmedabad, including concerns over delays, transparency, cockpit voice recorder disclosures and complaints from victims’ families and pilot associations, maintaining only that the probe is still under way.

Replying to a question by Rajya Sabha MP Dr John Brittas, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol refrained from responding to the specific issues raised and instead said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is conducting the investigation in a transparent manner and has not yet concluded the probe.

The Minister said a preliminary investigation report was published by the AAIB on July 12, 2025, and is available on the bureau’s website. He said that an interim statement, in line with the requirements of ICAO Annex 13, was issued on June 12, 2026.

The government said the investigation remains in progress and all probable causes leading to the accident are being examined.

However, the reply did not address whether the final investigation report has been delayed beyond the indicative timeline prescribed under ICAO norms.

It also did not respond to questions on whether the government had received representations alleging that selective disclosure of cockpit voice recorder extracts in the preliminary report had triggered speculation over the cause of the crash or the conduct of the flight crew.

Similarly, the government remained silent on whether any representations or complaints had been received from victims’ families, pilot associations or other stakeholders regarding the transparency, methodology or conduct of the investigation, and did not disclose if any action had been taken on such concerns.

The Minister merely said that the final investigation report would be published after completion of the probe, without indicating any timeline for its release.