Ahmedabad plane crash probe: Pilots’ body sends legal notice to AAIB over summoning of Air India captain’s relative
PTC Web Desk: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has issued a legal notice to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), objecting to the summoning of a pilot who is related to the late Captain Sumit Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command of Air India flight AI-171 that crashed with heavy loss of life.
According to reports, Air India has informed Captain Varun Anand that the AAIB has asked him to appear in connection with the ongoing investigation into the fatal crash. The development has drawn strong criticism from the pilots’ body, which has questioned the basis on which the summons was issued.
The federation has argued that the investigation agency has not specified the reason for calling Captain Anand, stressing that he had no operational or professional involvement with the ill-fated flight. In its communication, the FIP stated that Captain Anand was neither part of the flight planning process nor present at the accident site, and does not qualify as a factual, technical or expert witness in the case.
Emphasising that the crash claimed the lives of 260 persons, the federation said the only apparent reason for summoning Captain Anand is his familial relationship with Captain Sabharwal. The pilots’ organisation expressed concern that investigators may be proceeding with a preconceived line of inquiry and attempting to place responsibility on the deceased flight crew.
The FIP further cited provisions under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) framework, asserting that calling family members of a deceased crew member as part of an accident investigation is not permissible. It maintained that such a move goes against established international norms governing aircraft accident probes.
While strongly opposing the summons, the Federation noted that Captain Anand remains open to cooperating with the inquiry and is willing to participate through video conferencing, should the need arise.
The AAIB has yet to respond publicly to the objections raised by the pilots’ body.
- With inputs from agencies
