Supreme Court Says Air India Pilot Not To Blame In Ahmedabad Crash

The Supreme Court on Friday told the 91-year-old father of a pilot who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that his son bore no responsibility for the tragedy and should not be blamed for the accident.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on a plea filed by the pilot’s father, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, seeking a court-monitored probe into the crash, reported PTI.

“You should not carry the burden on yourself. The pilot is not to be blamed for the plane crash. It was an accident. There is no insinuation against him even in the preliminary report,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Sabharwal, referred to a report in the Wall Street Journal about the incident involving Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command of the ill-fated flight.

“It was nasty reporting only to blame India,” the bench remarked in response.

Reading a section from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB)’s preliminary report dated July 12, the court observed that the document contained no suggestion of pilot error and only cited cockpit communication between the two pilots, PTI reported.

“The scope of the AAIB investigation is not to assign blame but to recommend preventive measures to avoid future tragedies. If necessary, we will clarify that the pilot cannot be blamed,” the bench added.

The matter will be taken up again on November 10, along with other petitions related to the same incident.

According to PTI, the crash on June 12 claimed 260 lives — including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground — after the aircraft, which had taken off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, crashed within minutes near BJ Medical College hostel, located less than a nautical mile from the runway.

Last month, Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots approached the Supreme Court seeking a “fair, transparent and technically robust” inquiry into the tragedy. The plea, filed through AP&J Chambers on October 10, named the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA and AAIB as respondents.

The petition argued that “an incomplete and prejudiced inquiry, without identifying the exact cause of the accident, endangers the lives of future passengers and undermines aviation safety at large,” citing a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

It further sought the formation of an independent committee, including aviation and technical experts, to investigate the accident.

The plea also noted that the aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) failed to activate during the crash, which claimed the lives of both Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder.

(With inputs from PTI)