Air India AI-171 crash: Pilots' body seeks representation on panel reviewing draft final probe report

The pilots' body said if an independent mechanism is being created to review the draft probe report in the Ahmedabad plane crash, FIP should be nominated.

Updated on: Sep 26, 2026, 15:44:21 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) wrote to union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu seeking representation in an independent committee which is expected to be constituted to review the draft final investigation report on the Air India AI-171 crash. The Air India flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamline, crashed in Ahmedabad moments after take off on June 12, 2025, killing 260 people.

Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane AI-171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (PTI/File)

In a letter dated September 25, the pilots' body said, “FIP has now reliably learnt that the government/ministry has directed or is considering requiring the draft final investigation report (which is currently being prepared) to undergo examination by an independent committee before it is circulated/finalised."

The pilots' body requested that if an independent mechanism is being created to review the final draft probe report in the Ahmedabad plane crash, FIP should be “formally nominated and represented". The report is being prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) after over an year of investigation into the crash.

In July this year, the Centre told the Supreme Court that the AAIB was expected to complete its probe into last year’s Air India Flight AI-171 crash within six weeks and “a draft final report” would be ready by October.

The draft cannot be released immediately, the Centre said in an affidavit filed ahead of a hearing on Friday in a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the crash.

The government cited International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) framework and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025 that mandates a draft air crash investigation report to be circulated to states participating in the probe — in this case, the US’ National Transportation Safety Board as accredited representative of the state of design and manufacture — for their “significant and substantiated comments”.

The consultation could take 30 to 60 days depending on the complexity of the responses, the Centre stated.

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