Don't let Ahmedabad crash become Air India's death knell. It'll hurt Brand India

The Print

6 hours ago

The fallout of the tragic crash is stupendous. As a country, we need to conduct a comprehensive review and think about the ramifications for Brand India and the multi-billion dollar Indian aviation market.
The government of India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has announced an investigation into this terrible tragedy. All Dreamliners will undergo additional maintenance checks with immediate effect to determine if it was an accident, sabotage, or something more sinister. The Black Box and DVR have been recovered. The responsibility for the crash needs to be assigned, not covered up through a massive exercise of deflection of blame to 'pilot error' or the alleged lack of competence of Air India.
An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad last Thursday, less than a minute after taking off with 242 people on board and 1.25 lakh litres of jet aviation fuel. May Krishna bring eternal peace to the souls who lost their lives in the land of Dwarkadheesh.
Fallout for Brand India
Posts on social media have mocked the Air India crash with memes—'Curry Airlines' and 'Chutney Pilots, and most disturbingly, one featuring Air India Maharaja riding a poop-covered aircraft. Creative storytelling is the mainstay of the marketing world. And a narrative of alleged cover-up is being spun to tarnish Brand India.
Anonymous social media accounts are throwing up 'Too much chutney' narratives to bring down the rising Maharaja. In the face of this momentous tragedy, toxic tirades—including remarks like 'imagine the smell', 'was the pilot drunk?' 'Too much chutney?' and 'Indians wrote the software for that aircraft' have flooded the internet.
There have also been racist remarks about India's cultural identity 'The stench was so bad that the system started to malfunction', and 'one less invader machine in the skies, thank God.' It makes me wonder, what is the world coming to?
The human toll aside, this should not become Air India's death knell. Already reeling under 70 years of financial mismanagement, and the loss of prime slots in Europe and North America, let us not make chutney out of Air India, or hurt Brand India.
Diversify Brand India
India's aviation industry is the fastest-growing in the world. Make in India has been given a humongous push by PM Modi, and we are seeing great successes, as Operation Sindoor has proved. The indigenous BrahMos Missile and the drones saved the day and the country. We have had a scientist like Dr APJ Abdul Kalam leading innovations at the Department of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Our scientists, astronauts, and aerospace engineers, such as Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, have led space initiatives for other countries. Why can't similar brain power and scientific attitude be used to engineer an indigenous commercial jetliner?
Our Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and Tata have some of the brightest aviation engineers—and can use their expertise to help build commercial planes. HAL can produce aircraft since it has previously manufactured the HF-24 Marut, India's first fighter jet.
The government has passed the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak Bill 2024, which includes provisions to regulate aircraft design and manufacturing, aligning with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The demand for commercial aircraft in India today exceeds 1,200, and this push for Make in India must reduce dependencies on global conglomerates such as Airbus and Boeing, which have a chokehold on the aircraft market.
How hard would it be for India to produce commercially viable jets for passenger aviation? Modern technology, such as 3D printing capability and a technical tie-up with friendly nations, can easily combine Indian brainpower to manufacture long-distance carriers built in India. Public-private partnerships have successfully transformed the Viksit Bharat 2047 mission in airports, roadways, and ports. Industrial visionaries like the Dalmias, Birlas, Adani, Ambani, Shapoorji Pallonji, and Godrej could consider offering this as a service to the nation.
Also read: Operation Black Forest—how Modi-Shah's push for a Naxalism-free India is gaining ground
Make in India, go global
There is a strong case for Make in India—buy Indian, think vocal for local—and we all must demand that our skies remain free of intruders with vested interests, while welcoming both domestic and foreign travellers. A public-private partnership with leading business houses could give a commercial push to the DRDO's Kaveri engine, manufactured for Tejas fighter jets. ISRO and Wipro 3D have partnered to 3D-print PS4 engines for PSLV. And Agnikul, an Indian startup, is manufacturing rocket engines. While it is all about the money sweetening the honey pot, the aviation industry is expected to grow by leaps and bounds.
Already, India is the fourth largest and fastest-growing aviation market after the US, Russia, and China, valued at a mind-boggling $16 billion in FY25. It is expected to grow threefold by 2033. Crashes per million passengers data shows India is comparatively safer in terms of air accidents. India should make a start by working on MROs (maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities) and flight academies. The international aviation industry, along with the Indian industry, can partner and capture a slice of this lucrative pie by making India part of the supply chain and manufacturing hub.
Currently, IndiGo holds 60 per cent of the market, whereas the Air India Group (including Vistara and AirAsia) controls only 25 per cent. SpiceJet and GoAir are not nearly competitive enough. It is noteworthy that IndiGo's own network extends only to the Middle East. For onward journeys, Indian passengers turn to other airlines. Indian businesses should tap into this multi-billion-dollar industry.
Don't demean pilots
Lastly, various theories are being floated even without an authentic report made available through aviation data extracted from the black box and flight data recorder. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, whose elderly father has been left bereaved, was no novice. Mature and experienced, Captain Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience and came from a family of aviators—his father having retired from the DGCA.
First Officer Clive Kunder is remembered by his professors as brilliant and disciplined, having logged 1,100 hours as a dedicated professional. Their 'Mayday' call 30 seconds after takeoff indicates aircraft trouble.
How is it possible that in a country where 3,161 commercial flights take off daily (as of November 2024)—269 from Ahmedabad alone—a seasoned pilot could lose control within seconds of a sophisticated Dreamliner? India has currently 7,000-8,000 trained and qualified professional pilots. The country would require 30,000 pilots over the next 20 years, according to Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu. India exports pilots overseas, and enhanced skill development and training are urgently needed to meet demand.
We must strongly resist efforts to demonise pilots and shift blame when there is no plausible explanation for a failure of this magnitude. After all, 'Dead men can tell no tales.'
Meenakashi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.