India’s top court had sought responses on a plea filed by the father of the late captain of the Boeing 787 that crashed in June
A preliminary report on the Air India crash in Ahmedabad does not blame the pilot, the Indian government told the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday.
The June 2025 tragedy killed 270 people, including 12 crew members and 229 passengers. The flight had just taken off when it lost altitude and crashed into a medical college dormitory. Only one passenger survived.
The probe into the crash by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is not meant to “apportion blame” but to unearth what caused the accident and to safeguard against such tragedies in the future, India’s solicitor general told the Supreme Court.
The court was hearing a plea filed by the father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who commanded the Dreamliner.
While requesting an independent probe into the incident, the petitioner said the preliminary AAIB findings suggesting possible “human error” were defective and ignored evidence of a potential electrical or systems failure.
Air India Crash Preliminary Report DOES NOT Blame Pilot, Centre Informs Supreme Court
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has clarified that the preliminary investigation report does not attribute blame to the late pilot, the Centre stated Thursday.
The probe is progressing in accordance with international civil aviation norms, the government told the court. There is a “clear regime” under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conventions for such investigations, it added.
“Since there was some misconception after the preliminary report, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a press note clarifying that no one has been blamed,” the solicitor general told the court.
The petitioner had contended that the investigation was not adhering to ICAO-mandated standards.
The court has granted time to the government to file a detailed response.
Another petitioner has approached India’s top court asking it to set up an inquiry into the June crash. That person has told the court that there are systemic failures in Boeing 787s that pose a risk to passengers, but airlines continue to use the aircraft.
