SC to Father of Air India Crash Pilot: ‘No One in India Believes This Theory’
Bench assures pilot’s father it will record that the tragedy was not caused by human error; agrees to examine plea for court monitored probe into June 12 crash.
New Delhi, Nov 7 : The Supreme Court on Friday firmly stated that the pilots of the Air India flight which crashed on June 12 killing over 250 people cannot be held responsible for the tragedy. The bench clarified that no official government report attributes blame to the cockpit crew, adding that it was willing to place this on record to protect the reputation of the deceased pilots.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the remarks while hearing a plea filed by Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who commanded the ill fated flight. “This was an extremely unfortunate accident. But your son should not bear the burden of any insinuation. We can clarify that nobody, especially the pilot, is to be blamed,” the bench observed.
The judges added, “We have gone through the report. There is no insinuation against the pilot at all… Whatever could be the reason for the tragedy, it is not the pilots.”
The court also emphasized that the mention of cockpit conversations in the preliminary report merely reflected procedural detail and not culpability. “The investigation’s purpose is to ensure such incidents never recur,” the bench said, issuing notice to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Family Seeks Court Monitored Probe
The petition, filed by Sabharwal along with the Federation of Indian Pilots, calls for a judicially monitored investigation. It alleges that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB)’s preliminary findings suggesting “human error” were biased and ignored key evidence pointing to possible electrical or digital system failure.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioner, argued that the investigation lacked independence and cited instances of alleged prejudice, including intrusive questions about the pilot’s personal life.
The bench, however, clarified that public perception had been shaped by selective or foreign reporting, notably an article in The Wall Street Journal. “If there is insinuation in an American journal, proceedings must be filed there — not through a writ in the Supreme Court of India,” the court remarked.
It further added: “We are a country of 142 crore people, and none believe the pilot was at fault. Whatever the reason for the tragedy, it is not the pilots.”
Questions Over Probe Integrity
The petition argues that the inquiry has been disproportionately focused on pilot conduct rather than potential system failures in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It highlights that the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) a backup power device deployed seconds after take-off, a sign of complete power loss, pointing to possible technical malfunction rather than human error.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an aviator with over 15,600 flying hours and a spotless three-decade career, “cannot be blamed for what appears to be a catastrophic systems failure,” the plea asserts.
The petition calls for a judicially monitored investigation headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and aviation experts to ensure transparency and public trust. It warns that a rushed or biased probe risks tarnishing the memory of the deceased crew and ignoring potential design flaws that could endanger future passengers.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter next week alongside a similar plea filed earlier by NGO Safety Matters Foundation, which also sought an independent and impartial probe into the crash.
