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Who is Sanjay Kumar Singh? Meet the top crash investigators probing Air India tragedy
On June 12, an Air India aircraft operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 onboard.
A five-member team led by seasoned aircraft accident investigator Sanjay Kumar Singh has been appointed to investigate last month's fatal crash of the Air India plane in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on Friday evening.
On June 12, an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI 171 to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, plummeting into a medical hostel complex. The crash killed 241 of the 242 people onboard and 19 on the ground.
One passenger survived the tragedy.
Meet the investigation team
AAIB director Sanjay Kumar Singh, 56, is serving as the investigator-in-charge, while Jasbir Singh Larhga is the chief investigator, as mentioned in the AAIB report. The probe team also includes three officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA): Deputy director Vipin Venu Varakoth, assistant director Veeraragavan K, and air safety officer Vaishnav Vijayakumar.
Who is Sanjay Kumar Singh?
Currently director at AAIB, Sanjay Kumar Singh brings 15 years of experience in aircraft accident investigation. He has overseen 15 major investigations and processed over 300 incident classifications, according to a PTI news agency report.
With a background in Mechanical Engineering (Aeronautical Specialisation) and an MBA, Singh has over 25 years of operational and advisory experience in Air Force machinery assets, the report mentions.
Jasbir Singh Larhga
Jasbir Singh Larhga has been with AAIB for a decade and was involved in major air crash investigations, including the 2020 Air India Express Kozhikode crash, the 2016 Jet Airways skidding incident in Goa, and a 2019 taxiway mishap in Mangalore, the report said.
A former DGCA official described him as “an efficient and hardworking person.”
Vipin Venu Varakoth
Based in Mumbai, Vipin Venu Varakoth is an assistant director of air safety at DGCA with over 14 years of experience. His past roles include air safety officer.
Veeraragavan K
Currently assistant director of air safety at DGCA in Maharashtra's Mumbai, Veeraragavan K previously served in Delhi for nine years. Veeraragavan K also worked as an analysis engineer with Tata Consultancy Services in Chennai.
Vaishnav Vijayakumar
An air safety officer with DGCA, Vaishnav Vijayakumar has been part of several aircraft accident and incident investigations.
The preliminary investigation report into the deadly Air India crash was released late Friday night, revealing details of the final moments of the ill-fated AI171 flight.
The report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said that both engines on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost thrust shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12 — because the aircraft’s fuel control switches had been turned off.
Also Read | Air India crash probe report: 10 points on fuel cut, what pilots told each other
The report also included a tense exchange between pilots extracted from the cockpit voice recordings recovered from the black box. In the first few, which were also the final, seconds of the flight one pilot asked the other, “Why did you cut off the fuel?” The response came, “I did not do so,” according to the AAIB report.
The report based its finding on the data recovered from the Air India Boeing 787-7 plane’s black boxes — combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders.
