Father of Deceased Pilot Demands Formal Probe into Ahmedabad Air India Crash, Slams AAIB's Preliminary Report:

Ahmedabad, India – In the wake of one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s history, the father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal — one of the pilots of the ill-fated Air India Dreamliner — has demanded a formal investigation by the central government. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 operating as flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12, killing all 260 people on board, including 241 passengers. Pushkaraj Sabharwal, a 91-year-old retired bureaucrat and father of the late Captain Sabharwal, has written to the Civil Aviation Secretary and the Director General of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), urging the government to initiate a formal probe under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. Rule 12 empowers the central government to launch a separate, formal investigation if it deems it necessary to determine the circumstances surrounding an aircraft accident involving an Indian-registered aircraft. Such a probe would be in addition to the ongoing AAIB inquiry. In his strongly worded letter dated August 29, Pushkaraj expressed deep concern over what he called “selective leaks” and “innuendos” in the media following the release of the AAIB’s preliminary report on July 12. He accused the report of being “deficient, diversionary, and discrepant,” alleging that it unfairly shifts focus away from technical failures and instead hints at pilot error and mental health issues. “These innuendos have very adversely affected my health and mental setup and have severely tarnished Captain Sabharwal's reputation,” he wrote. “This violates his fundamental right to dignity under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.” Reports circulating in the media, citing anonymous sources, have suggested that Captain Sabharwal may have been under psychological distress, pointing to his divorce and his mother’s death as possible triggers. Pushkaraj firmly rejected these claims, calling them “baseless and speculative.” He clarified that his son’s divorce occurred nearly 15 years ago, and his mother passed away more than three years prior to the crash — during which time Captain Sabharwal flew over 100 successful flights without incident. "With over 15,638 hours of total flying experience, including 8,596 hours on the Boeing 787-8, and his role as a DGCA-certified Line Training Captain, Captain Sabharwal had an unblemished record in more than 25 years of aviation service," the letter emphasized. Pushkaraj also raised concerns over the leak of cockpit voice recorder (CVR) contents to the media, which indicated that fuel supply to both engines was cut off within one second, causing confusion in the cockpit. One pilot reportedly asked the other, “Why did you cut off?” — only to receive a reply: “I didn’t.” The AAIB, however, has stated that it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions and has urged the public to avoid premature speculation until the final report is released. As of now, there has been no official response from the Ministry of Civil Aviation or AAIB regarding Pushkaraj’s demand.

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