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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.
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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 Dreamliner, crashed in Ahmedabad moments after take off on June 12, 2025, killing 260 people.
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 draft final investigation report is being prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) after over an year of investigation into the crash.
What the pilot body said
The Federation of Indian Pilots said the Aircraft AAIB should have conducted the probe with the involvement of experienced pilots, engineers and aviation medicine specialists as subject matter experts (SMEs). "FIP always insisted that the investigation team comprises SME's as the present investigators in the AAIB lack expertise and experience in investigating a B-787 accident," it said.
The pilots' body said it was therefore important that, before the draft report reaches its final stage, technical points raised by an independent professional pilots’ federation or organisation are “objectively examined” and, where appropriate, incorporated into the investigation record.
Why review draft probe report
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.
