Four months after the deadly Air India Flight AI-171 crash that claimed 260 lives in Ahmedabad, the father of the late pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, has approached the Supreme Court, urging a judicially monitored investigation into the disaster.
Pushkaraj Sabharwal, 88, and the Federation of Indian Pilots have raised serious concerns over the preliminary findings released by the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Board (AAIB), which suggested human error as the primary cause of the crash.
“The investigation is heavily directed towards implicating pilots who can no longer defend themselves, while potential technical and procedural factors remain unexplored,” the petition argues.
The petitioners have also called for an independent inquiry to prevent “factual misdirection through selective disclosure” and ensure flight safety going forward.
It also challenges the composition of the five-member investigation team. “The team is dominated by officers from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and state aviation authorities, whose procedures and oversight may themselves have contributed to the crash. This violates the principle of natural justice, as the regulators are effectively investigating themselves,” the petition states.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot, had a career spanning over three decades, logging 15,638 hours of incident-free flying, including 8,596 hours on Boeing 787-8 aircraft. His command of AI-171 was accompanied by First Officer Clive Kundar.
The petition calls for a panel led by a retired Supreme Court judge, supported by independent aviation experts, to conduct the probe outside regulatory influence, aiming to establish a transparent and credible account of the crash.
Flight AI-171, en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed seconds after take-off on June 12. All 12 crew members and 229 passengers died, alongside 19 people on the ground. Only one passenger survived.
The AAIB’s preliminary report noted cockpit conversations suggesting possible pilot miscommunication, sparking speculation about pilot error. Pilot groups and safety advocates have criticised this narrow focus, warning that it could obscure broader systemic failures. The Supreme Court had previously described the pilot-error narrative as “unfortunate” while hearing a related aviation safety petition.
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