New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday 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”.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, which issued notices to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the aspect of an independent, fair and expeditious probe of the crash, said an element of privacy and dignity of families of victims was also involved.
It took note of certain aspects of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) preliminary report issued on July 12 and said “piecemeal and selective” publication of the findings, which led to building of a media narrative, was “unfortunate and irresponsible”.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed on June 12, shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The crash claimed the lives of at least 270 people, including 241 passengers. The AAIB has launched an investigation and formed a multidisciplinary team to examine the circumstances leading to the incident.
What the WSJ report claimed
Published on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal report states that the crash investigation is zeroing in on the decisions made by a senior pilot. According to the newspaper, cockpit voice recordings captured a conversation in which the captain appears to have shut off fuel to the engines just before the crash. The report cites sources familiar with the preliminary assessment of evidence by US officials.
The pilots involved in the flight were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively.
However, the AAIB clarified that its preliminary findings have so far revealed no evidence of pilot error.
