'Pilot Not To Be Blamed, Don't Carry Burden': SC To Father Of Pilot Killed In Air India Plane Crash

The Supreme Court of India on Friday observed that the pilot could not be blamed for the Air India plane crash that claimed 260 lives. The court told the 91-year-old father of the pilot who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad

that his son is not to be blamed for the accident, and he should not carry the burden on himself. The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre, the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and sought reply on the pea filed by the father of late pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, killed in Air India plane crash regarding an independent probe. The observation was made by a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing a petition by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan told the Apex Court that the investigation being carried out by AAIB was not independent. He urged the court to designate a judicially monitored probe into the crash.“I am the father of the Commander of the plane... I am 91 years old. This is a non-independent investigation. It should have been independent. It has taken four months,” Sankaranarayanan submitted.On the late pilot's father's concern, Justice Surya Kant said, "It's extremely unfortunate, this crash, but you should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed. Nobody can blame him for anything."Justice Bagchi also clarified that there was no insinuation against the pilot in the preliminary AAIB report. “One pilot asked whether the fuel was cut off by the other; the other said no. There's no suggestion of fault in that report,” the judge noted.Highlighting that there have been persistent issues involving Boeing aircraft globally, the petition demanded that the June 12 Ahmedabad crash must be viewed in the larger context.The 91-year-old father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, had filed a plea seeking a a retired judge-monitored fair, transparent, and technically sound probe into the crash of Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.Boeing 787-8 crashed on June 12 shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, leaving at least 270 dead, including 241 passengers. The AAIB has initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team to probe the crash.