Extending support to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is inquiring into the deadly Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has urged the media and public to wait for the final report, saying “investigations of this magnitude take time”.
The NTSB, a US federal agency tasked with investigating aviation and major transportation incidents, termed the recent media reports on the AI171 London-bound flight meeting with the accident last month, as “premature and speculative”.
“India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time. We fully support the AAIB’s public appeal, which was released Thursday, and will continue to support its ongoing investigation,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said in a statement posted on X.
All investigative questions should be addressed to the AAIB, he added.
Earlier, as several media houses continued reporting regarding the Air India Ahmedabad crash, the AAIB cautioned against “selective and unverified reporting”, calling such coverage “irresponsible and potentially damaging to the probe’s integrity”.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the ill-fated Air India flight, that crashed last month, allegedly indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines.
“It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting,” said AAIB in a statement.
“Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process,” the investigating agency added.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) objected to the exclusion of pilot representatives from the AAIB team, and called for a thorough probe before “assigning blame”.
“At the outset, we would like to register our dissatisfaction with the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation process. Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible,” the FIP said in an official statement.