Ahmedabad plane crash: Supreme Court slams reports suggesting ‘pilot error’ led to crash

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought the response of the central government and the Director General of Civil Aviation on the plea seeking an independent inquiry into the Ahmedabad Air India plane crash that killed 265 people. The court, which described the report that the pilot was responsible for the disaster as "very unfortunate and irresponsible", has also sought an explanation from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on the issue.

The controversy was sparked by the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in July. The report included the cockpit conversation between the pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. The audio recording contained a conversation between the pilots about the fuel switch to the engine being turned off just before the plane crashed. The audio recording shows one pilot asking the co-pilot why the switch was turned off and the other replying that he had not switched it off. This has led to speculation that the cause of the disaster was pilot error.

However, an aviation safety NGO, Safety Matters Foundation, approached the Supreme Court with a public interest litigation against this report. The petition alleges that the preliminary report hides crucial information and violates the fundamental rights of citizens to life, equality and access to truthful information. The petition also criticizes that the report trivializes problems such as fuel changeover problems and electrical problems and blames the pilots.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, pointed out that only a preliminary report has been issued even after more than 100 days of the accident. "That report does not say what happened or what precautions should be taken. As a result, all passengers travelling in Boeing aircraft are at risk," he argued. "Three of the five-member team formed to investigate the accident are officials of the aviation regulator DGCA, creating a serious conflict of interest. How can employees of the same institution in question conduct the investigation?" he asked.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotishwar Singh said that the petitioner's demand is understandable and that a fair investigation is needed. However, the court observed that making all the findings public may affect the investigation. Prashant Bhushan brought to the court's attention that a Wall Street Journal article, published before the official report was submitted to the government, had cited sources claiming that the pilots were being blamed. Justice Kant said that all these are very unfortunate and irresponsible statements. He added that confidentiality in such matters is essential. The Supreme Court is waiting for the response of the central government and other agencies in the case.