India’s civil aviation minister denied on Tuesday there was any “manipulation” in an official investigation into the crash of an Air India Dreamliner in June, after the father of the flight’s captain complained about the actions of investigators.
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It was the first official reaction to a complaint by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal sent to a pilots’ union last month, in which he said investigators had visited his home and implied that his son had cut the fuel to the plane’s engines after take-off.
Sabharwal, 91, emailed the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) to complain of “selective” releases of information from the investigators that had led to speculation about the actions of his late son, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal.
Minister defends ‘thorough investigation process’
“There is no manipulation or there is no dirty business happening in the investigation,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told broadcaster India Today.
“It is a very clean and very thorough process that we are following according to the rules that have been set up, so we are going to ensure that commitment is maintained,” he said in an interview, when asked if he had any assurances for Sabharwal.
Air India flight 171 crashed moments after it took off from Ahmedabad in June, killing 260 people.
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Air India plane bound for London crashes moments after take off in Ahmedabad
Air India plane bound for London crashes moments after take off in Ahmedabad
A preliminary investigation report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) showed the plane’s fuel engine switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cut-off just after take-off.