Pilot’s father, federation seek SC-monitored probe into Ahmedabad air crash

Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, along with the Federation of Indian Pilots, has approached the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored inquiry led by a former judge of the apex court into the 12 June crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives.

On 22 September, the Supreme Court had observed that the preliminary findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) appeared to indicate possible lapses by the pilots, and had consequently issued notices to the Union government and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on a separate plea demanding an independent, fair, and time-bound investigation.

In his petition, 91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal has urged the court to ensure a “fair, transparent, and technically robust” probe into the disaster.

“An incomplete and prejudiced inquiry, conducted without establishing the true cause of the accident, endangers future passengers and compromises overall aviation safety, thereby violating the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the plea stated.

Filed on 10 October through AP&J Chambers, the petition names the Union ministry of civil aviation, the DGCA, and the director-general of the AAIB as respondents. It is expected to be listed for hearing after the Diwali vacation.

The plea seeks the formation of an independent committee — comprising aviation specialists and technical experts — tasked with investigating the crash that killed 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground.

The ill-fated Boeing 787 had taken off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, but crashed within seconds of departure, impacting the B.J. Medical College hostel, located less than a nautical mile from the runway’s end. Debris was scattered over an area measuring roughly 1,000 by 400 feet, suggesting a high-energy impact.

According to the plea, the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) failed to activate, and both pilot-in-command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder perished in the crash.

The petition asserts that the investigation carried out by the AAIB and DGCA is “defective, biased, and technically unsound”.

The preliminary report, released on 12 July, is alleged to have wrongly attributed the crash to pilot error, while disregarding several potential systemic and technical malfunctions that may have contributed to the accident.

“The inquiry team, instead of pursuing a comprehensive technical analysis, appears to have disproportionately focused on the deceased pilots—who cannot defend themselves—while ignoring credible evidence pointing to electrical, software, or design-related faults,” the plea contended.

Such an approach, it argued, not only maligns the reputation of the deceased crew but also undermines aviation safety, thereby infringing the right to life and dignity under Article 21.

The petition has requested that the Supreme Court “constitute a Judicially Monitored Committee or Court of Inquiry, headed by a retired judge of this Honourable Court, assisted by independent aviation and technical experts, to conduct a fair, transparent, and technically robust investigation into the crash.”

It further seeks directions that all previous inquiries, including the preliminary report of 12 July, be “treated as closed”, with all records, data, and materials transferred to the newly constituted judicial body.

Describing his late son’s record, Pushkaraj Sabharwal said Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had an unblemished career spanning more than three decades, logging 15,638 hours of incident-free flying, including 8,596 hours on Boeing 787-8 aircraft, without a single lapse or safety incident.

The petition also criticised the investigative approach for failing to adequately consider technical and procedural factors related to Boeing’s systems that may have played a role in the tragedy.

“It is respectfully submitted that the five-member team appointed by the respondents is manifestly illegal and void, violating the cardinal principle of natural justice — nemo judex in causa sua — which dictates that no one should be a judge in their own cause,” the plea stated.

It pointed out that the probe panel was dominated by DGCA officials and members of state aviation authorities, whose oversight and procedures are themselves under scrutiny.

“Furthermore,” it added, “since these officers report to the Director General of the AAIB, the very bodies responsible for regulating civil aviation are effectively investigating themselves. The inclusion of representatives from Boeing and General Electric further compromises the impartiality, credibility, and reliability of the report.”

With PTI inputs