Air India Crash: SC Calls Mention Of Alleged Pilot Error In Leaked Probe Report 'Unfortunate'

The Supreme Court on Monday made critical observation over the leak of information from a preliminary probe report, that suggested pilot error in the Air India plane crash in June this year.

The leaked portion reportedly mentions a conversation between Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar. The report, according to NDTV, stated that the cockpit audio has confirmed that one pilot asked, "Why did you cut off?" And the other replied, "I didn't". This led to speculation that a pilot error was behind the fatal plane crash.

The SC bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, said it "very unfortunate" while referring to the leak of selective information from the report.

The observation came in response to a petition filed by NGO Safety Matters Foundation. The petition seeks an independent investigation into the crash, that claimed the lives of 265 persons.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that in the probe panel constituted after the crash, three members were from the aviation regulator and there may be an issue of conflict of interest involved.

He sought release of the information from the flight data recorder of the airplane that would clear the air over the cause of the accident.

The bench, which batted for the final report on the crash, said there is an issue of confidentiality and aspects of privacy and dignity involved in the matter.

While cautioning that the release of particular kinds of information may be exploited by rival airlines, the bench said that it is only issuing notice on the limited aspect of free, fair, independent and expeditious investigation of the crash.

The plea has been filed by an aviation safety NGO led by Captain Amit Singh (FRAeS), alleging that the official probe violates citizens' fundamental rights to life, equality and access to truthful information.

The plea says the AAIB issued its preliminary report on July 12, attributing the accident to 'fuel cutoff switches' being moved from 'run' to 'cutoff', effectively suggesting a pilot error.

It alleges that the report withholds critical information, including the full Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) output, complete Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts with time stamps and Electronic Aircraft Fault Recording (EAFR) data.

According to the plea, these are indispensable for a transparent and objective understanding of the disaster.

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.

With PTI inputs