Business: The father of late Captain Samit Sabharwal, the pilot in command of the Air India aircraft who was involved in the accident in June, has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court demanding an impartial, transparent and technically sound investigation into the accident. Late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the pilot-in-command in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June. 260 people were killed in the accident. His father has approached the Supreme Court demanding a fair, transparent and technically sound investigation into the crash of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft under the supervision of a retired judge.
Four months after 260 people were killed in the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, the father of late Captain Sumit Sabharwal has approached the Supreme Court seeking a judicially monitored investigation into the crash.
88-year-old Pushkarraj Sabharwal is the first petitioner in this case. Whereas, Federation of Indian Pilots is the second petitioner in this case. The petitioners argue that the initial investigation into the accident is “grossly flawed”. He says the investigation team is mainly focusing on the pilots, who are now unable to defend themselves. This has come to light after the preliminary report of the Air Accident Investigation Board, which said that the tragedy occurred due to human error.
“The current course of investigation has resulted in a failure to adequately investigate or rule out other more credible technical and procedural factors that may have contributed to this tragedy,” the petition said. The petition further states, “Petitioners emphasize that factual misinformation through selective disclosures, especially against crew members who cannot defend themselves, hinders the discovery of the root cause and poses a threat to flight safety in the future – hence, an impartial judicial approach is required.”
The petition has raised questions on the composition of the five-member investigation team, saying that it violates the basic principle of natural justice according to which no person should become the judge in his own case. “The team is dominated by officials from the DGCA and State Aviation Authorities, whose processes, oversight and potential lapses are directly related to the investigation. Additionally, these officials are under the control of the Director General of the AAIB, creating a situation where the institutions responsible for regulation and oversight of civil aviation are effectively conducting the investigation themselves.”
