‘Unfortunate, Irresponsible’: SC on ‘Pilot Error’ Narrative in Air India Crash Report
The Supreme Court on Monday took strong exception to media reports suggesting pilot error in the tragic June 12 Air India crash, describing the narrative that the pilots had deliberately shut off the fuel supply as “very unfortunate and irresponsible” . While hearing a PIL seeking an independent, court-monitored probe into the disaster that claimed 260 lives, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh issued a notice to the Centre and the DGCA, seeking their response on ensuring a fair and impartial investigation .
The court’s sharp remarks came after senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, argued that a selective leak from the preliminary inquiry report had been used to build a “pilot error” narrative in the media .
He pointed to a cockpit voice recording detail mentioned in the report, where one pilot asks why the fuel was cut off, which was then seized upon by international media like the Wall Street Journal to blame the pilots even before the official report was submitted . Justice Surya Kant termed this “very irresponsible,” stressing that “confidentiality is the most important thing in these matters” to prevent public speculation that could hurt the families of the deceased crew .
Bhushan argued that with more than 100 days passed since the crash, there is still no clarity on what happened, leaving passengers on similar Boeing 787 aircraft at risk . He also raised a serious conflict of interest, noting that three members of the five-member probe team are serving DGCA officials, the very body whose regulatory oversight is also under scrutiny . He pressed for the flight data recorder to be examined by independent experts for transparency, a plea the court was hesitant to grant at this stage, citing the need for confidentiality .
The Supreme Court has now sought a response from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA within two weeks on how they will ensure a “free, fair, impartial and expeditious investigation” . The court’s intervention brings a new focus on the probe into the crash, which occurred shortly after the London-bound flight took off from Ahmedabad, killing all 242 people on board and 19 on the ground