‘I lost my father too in road accident': Aviation minister stands with grieving kin of plane crash victims
Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, addressing the first press conference since Thursday's Air India crash in Ahmedabad, empathised with the victim families and recalled how he lost his father to a road accident.
Air India's Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner flight, crashed into BJ Medical College's doctors' hostel in the Meghani Nagar area in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on June 12. Follow Ahmedabad plane crash live updates
The crash claimed the lives of 241 on board the flight, leaving a lone survivor. On ground, 29 people lost their lives to this tragic accident.
Naidu observed a minute's silence at the beginning of the press conference and noted how difficult it has been for everyone in the last two days.
"I personally lost my father in a road accident, so I can understand the pain of the families who lost their loved ones," Naidu said.
Naidu's father, former union minister Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, died on November 2, 2012, in a road accident near Dandanapeta of Ranasthalam mandal in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam.
Yerran Naidu's vehicle had hit a tanker, resulting in the accident. The leader, who was a Telugu Desam Politburo member at the time, was rushed to a hospital where doctors tried to save him and even arranged a ventilator for him, The Hindu reported. But since his body did not respond to the treatment, doctors declared him dead at 3:30 am.
The Air India crash left the nation in shock. Meanwhile, the central government announced that a high-level committee has been formed to probe the crash. The panel has been asked to submit its report within three months.
Headed by the home secretary, the committee includes representatives (not below the rank of joint secretary) from the state and central governments.
The order issued by the civil aviation minister said that the probe panel will "will assess contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, regulatory compliances and other reasons' to 'ascertain the root cause of the crash.'
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