File photo: Air India crash
NEW DELHI: More than a year after Air India’s London flight crashed in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Tuesday told SC that the complex inquiry involving international agencies could be completed in six weeks, but the draft final report would be ready only by October this year.Responding to a petition filed by deceased pilot’s father Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, AAIB said, “In view of the nature, scale and complexity of the present accident, the AAIB has carefully assessed the timeline for completion of the investigation. In all probability, the investigation activities, subject to resolution of the pending external dependencies, are anticipated to be completed within six weeks.””Thereafter, the draft final report, following completion of the analysis phase, is expected to be ready approximately in Oct 2026,” it said in an affidavit. As required under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules, the draft report will first be shared with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the US agency representing the State of Design and Manufacture, for comments.”Post receipt of comments, further deliberations and discussions are made… and thereafter only the draft report is finalised and submitted to the Competent Authority, i.e. DG AAIB, who thereafter publishes the report,” it said.AAIB said the accident, involving 241 fatalities on board and victims from multiple countries, including the UK, Canada and Portugal, is of substantially greater complexity and requires a more detailed investigation.Calling its timeline comparable with international practice, AAIB said investigations into Japan Airlines Flight 516 (Jan 2, 2024) and Jeju Air Flight 2216 (Dec 29, 2024) are yet to result in final reports. It also noted that the US NTSB took about a year to publish its report on the Jan 29, 2025 Potomac River midair collision, while the investigation into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed in March 2019 killing 157 people, concluded only in 2022.
