Was the Air India crash deliberate? Sabotage theory ignites probe, Indian minister breaks silence
Published on Jun 29, 2025 09:28 PM IST
Two weeks after the tragic AI171 crash, India's civil aviation ministry has dropped a bombshell. Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol confirmed sabotage is among the angles being probed. CCTV footage, ATC logs, and the black box are now under intense review. 260 people died in the crash after the plane plunged into a building. The DGCA found no faults in other Dreamliners. Could this be more than a rare accident?
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Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
AI 171 crash probe looking at sabotage angle too: Minister
NEW DELHI: The probe into the June 12 crash of Air India's AI 171 in Ahmedabad is examining all angles, including sabotage. Junior civil aviation minister Murlidhar Mohol said in an interview to NDTV that the black box recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated Dreamliner is with Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which has begun a full investigation into the crash. "It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footage is being reviewed and all angles are being assessed... several agencies are working on it," Mohol said. He ruled out sending the black box abroad for assessment. "It will not go anywhere. It is in AAIB's custody and there is no need to send it outside. We will do the entire investigation." Terming the crash a "rare case", Mohol said: "It has never happened that both engines have shut down together... Once the (probe) report comes, we will be able to ascertain if it was an engine problem or fuel supply issue, or why both the engines had stopped functioning. There is a CVR (cockpit voice recorder) in the black box which has stored the conversation between the two pilots. It is too early to say anything but whatever it is, it will come out. The report will come in three months." The AI Boeing 787 had crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 just seconds after taking off for London. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If A Cat Bites Their Owner Heres What It Really Means Gloriousa Undo Data from the black box has been downloaded at an AAIB lab in Delhi. The aircraft's CVR and flight data recorder (FDR) were recovered on June 13 and 16, respectively, from the rooftop of the building where the Dreamliner had crashed onto and from the debris. They were flown to Delhi by IAF aircraft on June 24 under security and brought to a lab of AAIB. Aviation ministry Thursday said, "Analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences."
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
AAIB probing sabotage angle in Air India Crash
New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing from all angles, including sabotage, in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 274 people on board and on the ground last month, Minister of State (MoS) For Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said. Mohol said the black box of the Air India flight AI 171 that has been recovered is in AAIB's custody and will not be outside the country for a thorough assessment. The MoS was speaking at the Pune chapter of the Emerging Business Conclave. "It (plane crash) was an unfortunate incident. The AAIB has begun a full investigation into it... It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footages are being reviewed, and all angles are being assessed... several agencies are working on it," he said. The minister called the crash a "rare case". "It has never happened that both engines have shut down together," he said, referring to claims by veteran pilots and experts that a dual engine failure may have led to the crash. "Once the (probe) report comes, we will be able to ascertain if it was an engine problem or fuel supply issue or why both the engines had stopped functioning. There is a CVR (cockpit voice recorder) in the black box which has stored the conversation between the two pilots. It is too early to say anything but whatever it is, it will come out. The report will come in three months," he added. Mohol dismissed reports that the black box will be sent abroad for scrutiny. "It will not go anywhere. It is in AAIB's custody and there is no need to send it outside. We will do the entire investigation," he said. He said it was natural for passengers to develop apprehensions over air travel immediately after the Air India plane crash. "But let me tell you... all 33 Dreamliners have been inspected on the orders of the DGCA. Everything was found safe. That is why I said it was a rare accident. People are no longer scared and travelling comfortably," he said.
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- The Hindu
Airlines not reporting unruly behaviour of passengers, says DGCA
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that airline operators either substantially delayed reporting to it incidents of passenger misconduct or unruly behaviour or not reported them at all. Pointing to increasing number of cases where passengers' rage or unruly behaviour posed a threat to the safety of the flight, other passengers and crew, the aviation regulator reiterated its earlier instructions that such incidents should be reported within 12 hours via email to the Chief of Flight Safety/Director Cabin Safety (In-flight services) and a detailed information be submitted to the DGCA within 24 hours of landing of the flight. The DGCA said the norms are applicable to all scheduled and non-scheduled operators and other operators who carried cabin crew on board an aircraft. The aviation watchdog had in its earlier circulars reminded pilots, cabin crew and director of In-flight services of their responsibilities under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on dealing with unruly passengers. The latest advisory comes against the backdrop of several instances of unruly behaviour of passengers under the influence of alcoholic beverages, scuffle among passengers after heated arguments, sexual harassment of women passengers on board and even incidents with a potential to compromise the safety of aircraft operations. Going by the provisions of CAR, there are three categories of unruly behaviour: Level-1 refers to behaviour that is verbally unruly, and calls for debarment up to 3 months; Level-2 indicates physical unruliness and can lead to the passenger being debarred from flying for up to 6 months; and Level-3 relates to life-threatening behaviour where the debarment would be for at least two years. Besides legal action against cognisable offences reported in flights by respective law-enforcing agencies, guidelines were issued in 2017, which stated that complaints of unruly behaviour would be examined by an internal committee. It would take a decision on the matter within 30 days and also specify the duration of ban on the unruly passenger. During the period of pendency of such inquiry, the concerned airline may impose a ban on the passenger. For every subsequent offence, the ban would be twice the period of previous ban.
