Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday said that the Civil Aviation Ministry is reviewing the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) report on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.
He also commended the AAIB for conducting a “transparent and professional” investigation into the crash of Air India flight AI171.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, resulting in the deaths of 260 people including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 individuals on the ground.
Speaking to a news agency, the Union Minister said the preliminary report released by the AAIB is currently under review by the Civil Aviation Ministry, adding that further comments will be made only after the final report is released.
“I would like to appreciate the work done by the AAIB, a very commendable job. It was a challenging and difficult task. In fact, for the first time, the black box was safely secured and the data decoded, all done within India, at the lab in Delhi,” he said.
“The AAIB is the first of its kind, and I truly appreciate all the efforts they have made to ensure the investigation was conducted in a transparent, mature, and professional manner, in line with international protocols,” Naidu said.
“This is a preliminary report; we at the Ministry are analyzing it. We are coordinating with the AAIB for any support they may need. We hope the final report will be released soon, enabling us to draw definitive conclusions,” he added.
Naidu further stated that pilots and crew are the backbone of the aviation industry and assured that all necessary steps would be taken to uphold the highest safety standards.