He informed that the Government has formed a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to probe the AI-171 crash and review SOPs.
File Photo: UNI
Expressing his deepest condolences to the families of people who lost their lives in the Air India tragedy, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu promised to analyse every theory on the terrible incident.
He informed that the Government has formed a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to probe the AI-171 crash and review SOPs.
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Addressing a press conference two days after the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed over 240 lives, he said a High Level Multi-disciplinary Committee is constituted for examining the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, 2025.
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He said, ”One important update from the technical investigation which is happening through the AAIB is the recovery of the black box yesterday around 5 pm from the site, the AAIB team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give a, in depth insight into what would have actually happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report are going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation.”
The probe committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future.
The Committee will not be a substitute for other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations, but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future.
He said,”We have very strict safety standards in the country. When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes.”
He said there are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today, and 8 have already been inspected, and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be inspected.
He shared that the last two days have been very difficult, adding that the accident that happened near Ahmedabad airport shook the entire nation.
He said on hearing the accident news, he rushed to the site to oversee what needs to be done and what support needed to be provided, and that was the attitude of the government of Gujarat also.
The attitude was the same from GoI and the other people at the ministry, he added.
”Once we rushed to the site, we already saw the response teams from all the concerned departments were working on the ground, actively trying to rescue whatever is possible, trying to cut down the fire and to move the debris so that the bodies can be sent to the hospital at the earliest.”
He said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which was formed specifically to look into the incidents, accidents that happen around aircraft, was immediately mobilised.
The Minister said the accident near Ahmedabad airport shook the entire nation. ”My deepest condolences are with family members who have lost their loved ones. I have also lost my father in a road accident. So, to a certain extent I can understand the pain and anguish that the family members are feeling,” he said.
To pay tribute to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, Civil Aviation Minister Naidu and other officials observe a one-minute silence.
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