Authorities in India have been handed a preliminary report into the London-bound Air India flight that crashed last month, killing at least 260 people, but the public may not get to see its findings. The report, filed by the Indian government’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), is based on the initial findings of their investigation.
Guidelines set out by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), say a preliminary report should be released within a month of such an incident. However, India’s Civil Aviation Authority are not obliged to release it to the public.
Indian authorities didn’t release a previous preliminary report related to the Calicut Air India Express crash in 2020 that claimed the lives of 21 people.
Experts have said the report will indicate steps followed by investigators, findings of note, the sequence of events that led to Air India Flight 171 coming down shortly after take off, as well as available evidence, as per the outlet.
However, they emphasise that the document isn’t likely to explore the causes of the crash. It’s also not expected to assign blame, with preliminary reports typically focussed on learnings, and how to prevent incidents happening again.
It’s therefore common for countries to put prelimnary findings in the public domain.
The plane crashed in a residential area only seconds after leaving the Ahmedabad airport, in the west of the country, on June 12.
Flight AI171 issued a Mayday call moments after taking flight and reached only 650 feet before crashing into a medical college complex, erupting into a fireball.
A British national, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was the only person on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner who survived and managed to walk away from the wreckage despite his injuries.
At least 19 people on the ground were also killed, according to reports.
The AAIB is leading the investigation into what happened, supported by UK and US safety agencies.
Investigators are examining various possible causes, including thrust-and-flap settings and the fact that the landing gear did not appear to have been retracted at the time of the crash.
Following the crash Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg offered the company’s “deepest condolences” to “the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad”
She added that she had “spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau”.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group which owns Air India, previously said investigators will “have our full cooperation, and we will be completely transparent about the findings”.