Air India plane crash: Pilot's father seeks another probe saying AAIB findings tarnished his son's image

The father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal one of the pilots of the fatal Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad has written to the central government demanding an another investigation into the incident saying that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB probe has tarnished his sons image reported the PTIThis follows concerns over the nature and implications of the preliminary findings released by the AAIBAccording to the PTI the pilots father Pushkaraj Sabharwal 91 said in his letter to the Civil Aviation Secretary and AAIB Director General that the current probe had led to damaging speculation about his sons mental health reputation and professionalismCaptain Sabharwal was one of 260 people who lost their lives when Air India flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12ldquoThis innuendo has severely affected my health and mental wellbeingrdquo Pushkaraj wrote in the letter ldquoand has deeply tarnished the name of Captain Sabharwal a citizen with rights under Article 21 of the Constitutionrdquo as per the PTIHe has called for a formal enquiry under Rule 12 of the Aircraft Investigation of Accidents and Incidents Rules 2017 which allows the central government to initiate a separate investigation if deemed necessary The rule is typically used in highimpact or sensitive cases where public confidence or national interest is at stakeAmid speculations about the cause of the fatal crash of the plane after the release of its preliminary probe report on July 12 AAIB had asserted that it was too early to draw any definite conclusions on what led to the accident as the investigation was still on and that the final report will come out with the root causes The probe agency had also urged everyone to refrain from spreading premature narratives reported the PTIThe preliminary report on the contrary does not allude to the what happened or the bare facts of the crash instead resorting to insinuations on the one hand and offering copious clean chits to the manufacturers on the other The report in its present form is deficient diversionary amp discrepant the letter said according to the PTIIt also claimed that selective information of the preliminary investigation has been put out in the public domain and the material gathered during such investigation has been released which include the contents of the cockpit voice recorder the news agency reportedPushkaraj also refuted speculations about the mental health of his sonCiting reports he said it was suggested that Sumeet was divorced and that caused him anxiety and depressionIt even ignores the fact that Captain Sabharwal was divorced about 15 years ago The other speculation relating to the cause for Captain Sabharwal being desirous of committing suicide has been his mothers death His mother died more than three years ago After that Captain Sabharwal had operated more than 100 flights without any incident or accident It is most pertinent to note that in over 25 years of flying Captain Sabharwal had not had a single incident or accidentcausing fatalities or otherwise the letter said reported the PTIHe had almost 1563822 hours of flying experience out of which 8596 hours were on the 7878 aircraft He was also designated as a Pilot Trainer ie a Line Training Captain and had the DGCA licence for the purposePushkaraj also said that the absence of a formal enquiry conducted in accordance with Rule 12 coupled with the selective information being provided to the media is very disturbingdetrimental to him and affects his fundamental rights including the right to reputation of his deceased sonUnder Rule 12 of the Aircraft Investigation of Accidents and Incidents Rules 2017 the central government can institute a formal investigation into circumstances of any accident of an Indian registered aircraft if it appears that it is expedient to hold such a probe This will be in addition to the AAIB probeIn the preliminary report AAIB had said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second causing confusion in the cockpit soon after takeoff In the cockpit voice recording one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off The other pilot responded that he did not do so it had said the news agency reported on WednesdayThere were no immediate comments from the civil aviation ministry and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB on the letterwith PTI inputs