Irresponsible: Supreme Court on pilot error mention in Air India crash probe report, issues notice to Centre, DGCA
The apex court has also issued notices to the Centre and Director General of the Civil Aviation in response to the plea.
The Supreme Court on Monday bserved that it was "irresponsible" to blame pilots based on a preliminary inquiry report, while responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an independent, court-monitored probe into the Air India plane crash.
The apex court has also issued notices to the Centre and Director General of the Civil Aviation in response to the plea.
"If tomorrow someone irresponsibly says pilot A or B was at fault, the family will suffer... What happens if the final inquiry report later finds no fault?" the top court asked while stressing u[on maintaining confidentiality until the investigation is complete.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO 'Safety Matters Foundation,' pointed out a story on the crash probe published in US publication The Wall Street Journal suggesting an issue of conflict of interest as the panel constituted for the probe comprised three members from the aviation regulator.
"Then the government officially released the report, and everyone went around saying it was pilot error. These were very experienced pilots, yet the story suggested that the pilot was suicidal and had switched the fuel switch," Bhushan told the division bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh.
“That was unfortunate,” Justice Kant said, calling media reports suggesting that one of the pilots was suicidal a "very irresponsible" kind of reporting.
"Unfortunately, sometimes when such a tragedy happens, the benefit is taken by rival aircraft companies," the bench further noted, issuing notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation over transparent, fair and expeditious investigation.