Air India plane crash: Aviation minister slams ‘vested interests' of Western media: ‘No point in jumping to conclusions'
'AAIB has made an appeal to all, especially Western media houses, which may have a vested interest in the kind of articles they are trying to publish,' Naidu said.
'I believe in AAIB. They have done a wonderful job in decoding the black box in India itself. Making any comments until the final report comes out is not a good exercise. There is no point in jumping to conclusions at this point,' he added.
The civil aviation minister was referring to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) preliminary report, released on July 12, on the crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 plane that killed 260 people, including 241 people onboard. The aircraft, which was operating the flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed into a building soon after takeoff.
Seconds before Air India flight 171 crashed while ascending from Ahmedabad, the fuel control switches of both its engines were cut off, according to the preliminary investigation report, suggesting a catastrophic pilot error in the cockpit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
A 15-page preliminary investigation report into the disaster revealed that fuel-control switches of the two engines moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position, within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude.
In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel. The other denied having done so.
The report by the AIIB neither concluded any reason for the switches moving nor apportioned explicit blame for the crash. It also did not identify the pilots in the voice recording. But it also said no fault was found in the aircraft.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President Captain CS Randhawa on Saturday called out The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, accusing them of not basing their reports on factual content while highlights the AIIB's preliminary report on the AI-171 plane crash.
Captain CS Randhawa's strong remark followed the FIP's initiation of legal action through a formal notice to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. They have also sought an official apology.
Strongly criticising the WSJ and Reuters, Randhawa blamed them for "misleading" the public, alleging that their reports are "not based on factual content."
"I would totally blame the Wall Street Journal for misleading the public, they come out with their own conclusions. Are they the investigative body? They're talking all this crap around the world. They are not the investigative body, and the reports are not based on any factual content, which is mentioned in the preliminary report. So, how can they jump to conclusions and give press statements around the world?" he told ANI.
Captain Randhawa said that FIP has issued a legal notice asking them to issue a statement in the press, giving an explanation of their reportage of the AAIB preliminary reports.
"We strongly condemn it, and we've also issued legal notices to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. We have clearly said that how can you jump to these conclusions which are not part of the preliminary report of the AAIB? How can you blame the pilots? So we have asked for an explanation and have asked that you give a statement to the press." he said.
"And if they don't do it, then we'll see further action," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
3 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘I'm disappointed in Putin': Trump suggests he may cut 50-day deadline over Ukraine ceasefire
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may shorten the 50-day deadline he gave to Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire deal over the war in Ukraine. 'I'm disappointed in President Putin,' Trump said while speaking alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, according to Reuters. 'I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number.' However, Trump did not say what the new timeline would be. Two weeks ago, Trump threatened 'very severe tariffs' on Russia's trading partners 'if we don't have a deal in 50 days' The BBC reported that Trump was responding to a question from a journalist about the Ukraine conflict. He said he had been close to reaching a ceasefire agreement with Putin five times. 'I've spoken to President Putin a lot. I've gotten along with him very well,' Trump said, according to the BBC. 'But then he goes out and starts launching rockets into some city, like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever you have bodies lying all over the street.' Trump added, 'I may reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number, because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen.' Following Trump's remarks, Russia's MOEX stock index dropped by as much as 1.2% during the day, according to Reuters. The index was down 0.8% from yesterday's close as of 1219 GMT, MOEX data showed. Russia's Foreign Ministry responded by rejecting Trump's approach. 'The language of ultimatums, blackmail, and threats is unacceptable to Moscow,' it said. The ministry also called the threat of new sanctions 'mundane. (With inputs from Reuters and BBC)
Mint
3 minutes ago
- Mint
‘Switch off our economy?': Indian Envoy Vikram Doraiswami's schools Western media on Russian oil question
Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Vikram Doraiswami delivered a rather fierce and a blunt reply to a journalist criticising India's oil imports from Russia. Doraiswami, who was talking to British radio station Times Radio last week, asked 'What would have us do? Switch off our economy?', adding that India is the third largest consumer of energy in the world and imports over 80 per cent of its products. According to a TOI report, the High Commissioner pointed out the irony and said that many of European countries are continuing to buy rare earth and other energy products, not oil, perhaps, but from the same countries that they're refusing to let India purchase from. When asked about India's 'closeness' with Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, Doraiswami said, 'We have a relationship that is based on a number of metrics. One of these is our long-standing security relationship that goes back to an era in which some of our Western partners wouldn't sell us weapons, but would sell it to countries in our neighbourhood that use them only to attack us.' 'Second, we have an energy relationship today which is a result of everybody else buying energy from sources that we used to earlier buy from. So we've been displaced out of the energy market largely and the cost have gone up. We are the third largest consumer of energy in the world and we import over 80 per cent of our product. What would you have us to do? Switch off our energy?' Doraiswami asked. "Third, we also see around us relationships that other countries maintain for their own convenience with countries that are a source of difficulty for us. Do we ask you to come up with a little test of loyalty?" he further asked. A Reuters report on Monday said that the European Parliament is considering proposals to speed up the EU's phase out Russian gas by one year, to January 2027, as officials in Brussels prepare to negotiate the legally-binding ban. European Union countries and lawmakers are preparing to negotiate the EU's plan to ban imports of Russian gas – with the starting point a legal proposal the European Commission made last month to phase out all Russian gas imports by January 1, 2028. The Parliament's lead lawmakers on the Russian gas ban have each proposed that this deadline is moved forward to January 1, 2027, documents detailing their amendments to the Commission proposal showed, the report added. (With inputs from Reuters)
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
3 minutes ago
- First Post
Tariff tracker: Can key nations strike tariff deals with the US before August 1 deadline?
US tariff negotiations have heated, as the August 1 deadline looms, with countries scrambling to avoid steep new duties. Deals with the EU, Japan and others have been struck, but talks with South Korea, India, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico and Brazil remain fraught read more A 3D-printed miniature of US President Donald Trump, EU flag and words "15% tariffs" are seen in this illustration taken July 27, 2025. File Image/Reuters US tariff talks with major trading partners have heated as countries scramble to head off sharp duty hikes before the looming August 1 deadline. Many of the tariff increases stem from a package unveiled in April, which outlined that dozens of economies would face higher levies — rising above the existing 10 per cent rate — due to their trade surpluses with the United States. The implementation date for these duties, delayed twice already, is now set for Friday, August 1. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In recent weeks, Washington has expanded the list of nations facing these tariffs while simultaneously striking deals with several others, including the European Union, UK, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The agreement reached with the European Union, announced Sunday, imposes a 15 per cent tariff on EU exports to the US — significantly lower than the 30 per cent US President Donald Trump had initially threatened. Where do other US trade talks stand? South Korea Seoul is racing to conclude an accord with Washington, as Tokyo's success in finalising its own deal has 'amped up the pressure for South Korea,' a government source told AFP. Local reports suggested Seoul may propose over $100 billion in investment as part of a broader deal, with likely involvement from major corporations like Samsung and Hyundai Motor. The South Korean government has not confirmed those reports. Officials have, however, detailed plans to boost cooperation in key sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors and batteries. National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lak told reporters the two nations were in 'the final and most crucial phase of negotiations' to prevent the 25 per cent tariff proposed by Trump. India Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Bloomberg Television on Thursday that he remained confident his country could strike a deal with the United States to stave off Washington's 26 per cent tariff threat. Goyal revealed there were no 'sticking points' in the US-India trade relationship and noted that immigration policies — including rules regarding H-1B visas for skilled workers — had not been part of the ongoing talks. Despite his assurances, media outlets has reported that hopes for even an interim agreement before August 1 had begun to fade. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Taiwan Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai said Thursday that negotiators were 'working hard' amid concerns that a harsh tariff rate could damage the island's economy. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim added that Taipei's team was 'working almost 24 hours a day to achieve trade balance and Taiwan's industrial interests, and even to further deepen cooperation.' Canada, Mexico Though Canada and Mexico escaped Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs announced in April, products from both nations entering the US are still subject to a separate 25 per cent levy unless they are covered under a North American trade pact. That rate is poised to climb to 30 per cent for Mexican goods on August 1, while Canadian products are set to face a 35 per cent duty. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government was 'doing everything' it could to stop the tariffs and expressed willingness to speak with Trump personally to secure a deal. Trump told reporters on Friday that no agreement with Canada had been reached. Brazil Brazil is bracing for what could amount to a virtual trade embargo on its planes, grains and other exports if Trump's threatened 50 per cent tariff is enacted on August 1. Despite the fact that the US runs a trade surplus with Brazil — Latin America's largest economy — the country was not initially expected to be targeted under Trump's 'reciprocal' tariff plan. Trump has made no effort to conceal the political undertones of the move, pointing to a judicial 'witch hunt' against his right-wing ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro, when announcing the tariff rate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The overtly political backdrop makes a last-minute resolution appear increasingly unlikely. With inputs from AFP
