India’s top pilots’ unions have strongly objected to what they term “reckless speculation” surrounding the Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, rejecting early media reports that suggest pilot error was to blame.
The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) condemned the “insinuations of pilot suicide” as baseless and deeply insensitive, stating that the crew followed protocol during the emergency.
“Speculation is irresponsible and cruel. There is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage… invoking such a serious allegation based on incomplete information is not only irresponsible, it is deeply insensitive,” ICPA said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) criticised the tone of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), arguing it leans toward blaming pilot error without transparency. ALPA called for line pilots to be included in the investigation process as observers to ensure a fair and accurate outcome.
The AAIB report, released on Saturday, stated that both engines lost thrust moments after take-off when fuel cut-off switches moved from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’, a sequence that remains unexplained. The cockpit voice recorder revealed that one pilot denied initiating the switch-off, and the controls were returned to ‘RUN’ just before the crash.
Former AAIB Director Aurobindo Handa said the report presents a timeline of events but does not yet explain what triggered the failure.
“Even though the report is out, it just contains the facts… what has gone on in those 30-odd seconds. It is nothing conclusive,” he said, stressing that preliminary and final findings often differ in air crash investigations.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu echoed the call for restraint, stating that the preliminary report is not conclusive, and urged the public and media to wait for the final report before assigning blame.
The debate comes amid increased scrutiny following the Air India safety check directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which has mandated inspections across the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet.
–Input IANS
