SC issues notice to Centre, DGCA on PIL for 'fair, independent' probe into Ahmedabad plane crash

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to respond to a PIL seeking an independent, fair and expeditious probe into the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 265 lives, including both pilots and crew members.

Expressing concern over the selective leak of the preliminary inquiry report, which led to a media narrative blaming pilot error for the crash of the London-bound Air India Flight AI171, a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh said certain aspects of the July 12 AAIB preliminary report indicating lapses on the part of pilots were "irresponsible".

“Suppose tomorrow, it is said pilot 'A' is responsible… The family of the pilot is bound to suffer," Justice Kant said. "Instead of piecemeal leaking of information, somebody should maintain confidentiality till regular inquiry is taken to logical conclusion," the Bench said, terming it as “very unfortunate”.

On behalf of petitioner ‘Safety Matters Foundation’, advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that the probe panel constituted after the crash included three members from the DGCA and there may be a conflict of interest. “How can officers of the very organisation whose role is likely to be examined be part of the inquiry?” Bhushan wondered.

However, pointing out that there was an issue of confidentiality and certain aspects of privacy and dignity were also involved, the Bench asked him to wait for the final probe report.

Noting that the release of particular kinds of information may be exploited by rival airlines, the Bench said that it’s only issuing notice on the limited aspect of free, fair, independent and expeditious investigation of the crash.

The Bench also questioned the petitioner's demand for disclosure of the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR). As Bhushan said the DFDR contained critical information about faults that may have occurred, the Bench cautioned against premature release of such data. "It's not advisable to release it…,” it said.

Bhushan said, “It has been more than 100 days since the crash occurred. All that has been done so far is a preliminary report.... it doesn't say what has happened or what may have happened and what precautions should be taken... The result is all passengers who are travelling on these Boeing planes are at risk today."

The petitioner has sought disclosure of all relevant records forming part of the investigation and appointment of an independent investigation team to probe into the crash under the top court’s supervision.

On June 12, Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 en route to London's Gatwick airport crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 265 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board. Among the 241 dead were 169 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian and 12 crew members. The lone "miracle" survivor of the crash was Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian descent.