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The Supreme Court connected Wednesday (February 11, 2026) allowed 3 weeks for the completion of the ongoing probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the Air India Flight 171 clang astatine the Ahmedabad airport, sidesplitting 12 unit members and 229 passengers connected June 12 past year.
“There is simply a batch of anxiousness and queries successful the minds of pilots, adjacent relatives [of those who died]... We are besides eagerly waiting for the findings of the investigation. We besides privation to spot what they person to say,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a Bench, addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government.
The tribunal asked Mr. Mehta to spot the AAIB study connected grounds aft the completion of the investigation.
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During the hearing, Mr. Mehta said a elaborate and planetary probe was on, and asked for 3 weeks more. He said the probe was not meant to constituent fingers astatine anyone for the crash, but to unearth the crushed which led to the tragedy.
“Nobody wants to enactment immoderate blasted connected the pilots. The probe is connected the origin of the accident,” the Solicitor General clarified.
Boeing 787 Dreamliners
At 1 point, addressing questions raised astir the information of the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the CJI asked however galore different airlines globally utilized the aircraft.
On receiving a effect that “many airlines do”, Chief Justice Kant remarked that grounding Dreamliners mightiness efficaciously pb to grounding the airlines serving the country.
Senior advocator Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for 91-year-old Pushkarraj Sabharwal, on with advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, argued that a abstracted tribunal of enquiry headed by a retired justice was the instrumentality and the norm successful the aftermath of a large aerial accident.
The CJI responded that the “smallest aerial mishap leads to disastrous consequences”. The Bench stressed that it would hold for the AAIB to travel retired with its report.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, connected the Bench, reiterated that the intent of an AAIB enquiry nether Section 4C of the Aircraft Act 1934 and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017 was not to delegate blame.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan said the probe study should beryllium submitted successful tribunal successful a sealed cover.
Mr. Sabharwal, on with the Federation of Indian Pilots, had moved the apex tribunal seeking an autarkic and judicially-monitored probe into the accident. His petition was triggered by “nasty” reportage astir his lad and rumours of aviator error. He had argued that the AAIB probe was flawed.
His petition had followed a preliminary report, published successful the media, containing what is believed to beryllium a little verbal speech betwixt the 2 pilots, caught connected the flight’s achromatic box.
