Nation’s Civil Aviation Minister Denies Complaints of the Captain’s Father

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has finally spoken out against claims of “dirty business” in the investigation of Air India flight 171, which left 260 people dead. The complaint was submitted by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, whose son was one of the pilots in the cockpit when the tragic accident occurred.

Sabharwal alleged that investigators selectively released information to pin blame on his son, making it seem like he deliberately shut off the aircraft’s fuel supply and triggered a complete loss of power. He said officials from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visited his home and, instead of offering condolences as they said they wanted to, questioned him about his son’s mental state.

Minister Naidu publicly dismissed the allegations during an interview, calling the investigation “very clean and very thorough.” He said the process was being conducted according to international rules and that there was “no manipulation” or “dirty business” involved. This was the first time the government directly addressed the captain’s father’s complaint, despite it having been submitted several weeks earlier.

The preliminary report revealed that both engine fuel control switches had been moved from RUN to CUTOFF roughly three seconds after liftoff, likely causing both engines to shut down. The switches were later recovered in the RUN position, leaving investigators puzzled as to how the cutoff occurred. Cockpit voice recordings caught confusion between the two pilots, with neither admitting to touching the switches.

Foreign aviation regulators from the US, UK, and France have reportedly expressed concern about the transparency of India’s investigation. Some have suggested that political pressure could influence the final report’s findings, especially amid allegations of blame-shifting toward the deceased crew.

Flight 171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, carried 242 passengers and crew. Only one survived. Nineteen more people were killed on the ground when the jet struck nearby homes after both engines lost power. The crash remains the deadliest air disaster involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and one of the worst in India’s aviation history.

FMI: www.dgca.gov.in