The Air India plane crash on June 12 in Ahmedabad claimed 260 lives after a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff. The victims included 241 passengers and 19 crew members, including Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, one of the pilots on board.
Captain’s father writes to Centre, demands formal inquiry
Pushkaraj Sabharwal, a 91-year-old retired bureaucrat and father of the deceased pilot, has written to the Civil Aviation Secretary and Director General of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), demanding a formal inquiry under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. He said the current handling of the investigation, particularly selective leaks and speculation, had severely impacted his son’s posthumous reputation and his own mental health.
“These innuendos have very adversely affected my health and mental setup and the reputation of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal,” he wrote in the letter dated August 29. Pushkaraj strongly refuted reports suggesting that his son was under psychological stress and possibly suicidal due to personal losses, including a divorce and his mother’s death.
“Captain Sabharwal was divorced about 15 years ago... His mother died more than three years ago, and after that, he operated over 100 flights without incident,” he wrote.
Letter criticises AAIB preliminary report
Pushkaraj’s letter took aim at the preliminary AAIB report released on July 12, which stated that it was "too early" to conclude the cause of the *Air India plane crash*. However, the report has allegedly led to public insinuations about pilot error or psychological instability.
“The report in its present form is deficient, diversionary & discrepant,” the letter stated, adding that it leans toward exonerating manufacturers while offering no clarity on the facts of the crash.
He further criticized the leak of cockpit voice recorder (CVR) contents into the public domain, saying it violated investigative protocols and privacy.
