Air India Ahmedabad crash: Father of slain pilot moves Supreme Court seeking independent probe

The father of the Air India pilot who died in the tragic accident in which 260 people were killed in Ahmedabad has requested the Supreme Court to order an independent investigation that takes into account causes other than pilot actions, sources familiar with the case were quoted by news agency Reuters. The petition represents a major escalation of protests by the father and a pilots’ union against the government’s handling of the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade, which came shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In one of India’s worst plane crashes, 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on June 12. Seeking probe by ex-SC judge Supreme Court judge, comes weeks after he raised questions about the government probe. Pushkaraj had earlier said in a letter to the civil aviation secretary and AAIB director general that selective leaks about the accident had led to speculation that Sumeet, 56, was under immense psychological pressure and was therefore contemplating death. Sabharwal said two AAIB officials who visited him implied that his son, Sumeet Sabharwal, cut the fuel to the plane’s engine after it took off. The government has denied such accusations, calling the investigation “very clean” and “very thorough.” “Predominantly focusing on the deceased pilots On October 11, the father told the court that the investigation team appeared to be “mainly focusing on the deceased pilots … while failing to investigate or rule out other more plausible technical and procedural causes,” said one of the sources who saw its filing. aviation experts, according to the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Federation of Indian Pilots against The judges have yet to take up the case, which, according to the Supreme Court’s website, was jointly filed by the father and the Federation of Indian Pilots against the government. The investigative team appears to have focused primarily on the deceased pilots while failing to investigate or eliminate other more plausible technical and procedural causes. A preliminary AAIB report showed the Boeing Dreamliner’s fuel engine switches turned from run-up to cut-off almost simultaneously just after takeoff. (With input from Reuters)