The Indian Commercial Pilots Association has formally requested an independent committee to review the draft final investigation report on the Air India AI-171 crash. In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, the association seeks clarification on whether the government plans to have such a committee assess the report before it is finalized and made public. This appeal underscores concerns about accountability and transparency in the investigation process following the tragic incident.
HT could not independently confirm whether such a review has been ordered or is under consideration. A query on whether the government had asked the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to put the draft final report before an independent committee did not elicit a response. In its letter, the FIP asked the ministry to confirm whether such a committee has been constituted or is proposed, its composition and terms of reference, whether independent aviation professionals would be on it, and whether the federation would be invited or nominated to take part. The federation has also questioned differences in take-off performance timings between the preliminary report and simulator runs.
The fuel-system interruption occurred at about 08:08:42 UTC, and the RAT began supplying hydraulic power about four seconds later, according to the preliminary report. The FIP said simulator testing showed that about 18 seconds were needed after a fuel-system interruption for RAT-generated power to become available.
In the letter, dated September 25, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) said it had “reliably learnt that the Government/Ministry has directed or is considering requiring the draft report to undergo examination by an independent committee before it is circulated/finalised”. One pilot said the ministry was reportedly keen for an independent committee to examine the draft before it is made public, and had recently written to the AAIB saying so. A former bureaucrat said the AAIB head has, as a settled practice, been able to form an experts committee to review a report before approving it for publication. “In fact, yet another committee can be formed even after the report is out to ensure the action is taken on the recommendations mentioned in the report,” he said. The federation said any review should include a professional pilot perspective. “An independent review which does not include an appropriate professional pilot perspective would leave an important technical dimension insufficiently represented,” the letter said. A “transparent and technically independent review” with “meaningful representation of the Professional Pilot community” would be consistent with the goal of improving aviation safety in India, it added.
