June 12 last year was a hot day and a fateful one. Air India Flight 171 left the terminal at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad with 230 passengers and 10 cabin crew bound for London. Just 32 seconds after take-off the plane crashed, killing all but one of those on board. Another 19 people on the ground also lost their lives.
Finding out the cause of the deadliest Indian air crash in 30 years is the responsibility of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), part of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation. Under international law the country in which an accident occurs is directly responsible for the official investigation.
The AAIB released a preliminary report a month after the accident. Though the 15-page document did not draw any conclusions about the causes of the crash or make any recommendations, two paragraphs that referred to the fuel cut-off switches and the pilots talking about this were highlighted in the report.
This brief statement, provided without a transcript or any indication of who was speaking, sparked intense speculation about the actions of the pilots.
Another report – whether an interim report or the final one – should be published on the one year anniversary of the incident.
The families of the dead are desperate for an answer but there is also a great deal at stake for the companies involved.
For Boeing, which makes the 787 Dreamliner that crashed, it is a company already reeling from years of safety scandals, such as the callous way it handled flaws in the 737 Max 8 that led to not one but two fatal accidents. The Dreamliner is one of its premium long-range aircraft and it had never suffered a crash until this particular incident.
For Air India, a loss-making airline belonging to the Tata Group, it cannot afford to see its brand tarnished any further.
It would be very convenient for these giant companies if the blame completely fell on one or more of the pilots. If the pilot is to blame, even India’s civil air regulator could absolve itself of responsibility.
Whether the incident was indeed the result of pilot error or suicide (sadly a not-unheard of phenomenon) or a technical problem the public deserves a fair and transparent explanation of what happened on that tragic day.
The preliminary report 11 months ago did not do much to inspire confidence in the general population. There is now widespread doubt that tomorrow’s update will be conclusive.
Whatever report is published, it appears highly unlikely that there will be a reversal of the wave of controversy and mistrust that has already engulfed the investigation.
A great deal of that stems from perceptions that the companies involved are being protected from blame.
Boeing’s entire reputation took a massive hit after the Max 8 fiasco, from its corporate culture, manufacturing processes, safety practices, etc. Air India has been facing plenty of turbulence of its own, going back to the years under central government ownership. After Tata took over in 2022, it was hoped that private control would turn the airline around but it has not been easy and Air India cannot afford further damage to its troubled legacy brand.
