Father of late Air India pilot moves Supreme Court for judicial probe into Air India plane crash that killed 260
PTC Web Desk: The father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, one of the pilots killed in the Air India flight AI171 crash, has approached the Supreme Court demanding a judicially monitored probe into the tragic accident that claimed 260 lives, including 241 passengers.
The writ petition, filed jointly by 91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on October 10, seeks the formation of a court-monitored committee to investigate the June 12, 2025, crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (registration VT-ANB) that occurred shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
The petition demands that all previous investigations conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) be declared closed, and that all data, evidence, and reports be handed over to a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, assisted by independent aviation and technical experts.
Sabharwal and FIP argue that the current investigation lacks “credibility and transparency,” alleging that the AAIB failed to probe possible design faults in the Boeing 787 aircraft. They also accuse the bureau of wrongly blaming the pilots and creating a “narrative of pilot culpability,” which, according to them, undermines the investigation’s independence and violates international aviation standards under ICAO Annex 13.
In his earlier letter to the Civil Aviation Secretary and the Director General of the AAIB dated August 29, Pushkaraj Sabharwal had demanded a formal investigation under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, which allows the central government to order such a probe if deemed necessary.
He also expressed concern over “selective leaks” from the investigation, including portions of the cockpit voice recorder, which allegedly led to false reports about his son’s mental state and suggested suicide. “These baseless rumours have deeply hurt my health and damaged my son’s reputation,” he wrote, adding that such insinuations violate the right to reputation protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Refuting all allegations, the grieving father said Captain Sabharwal was an experienced pilot with more than 25 years of flying and 15,638 hours of total flight experience, including 8,596 hours on Boeing 787 aircraft. “He had never been involved in any incident or accident,” the letter stated.
The AAIB’s preliminary report released on July 12 mentioned that both engines of the aircraft stopped receiving fuel within one second of each other, leading to confusion in the cockpit moments after takeoff. The report cited one pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” and the other replying, “I didn’t.”
Following criticism, the AAIB clarified that it was too early to reach conclusions and that the final report would determine the root cause of the crash. It urged the public and media to avoid speculation until the investigation was complete.
- With inputs from agencies
