MC EXCLUSIVE Meet Sanjay Singh, the man leading the investigation into the Air India flight 171 crash

Data from the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR), commonly known as the black box, revealed that both switches were moved back to the ‘RUN' position and while Engine 1 showed signs of recovery, Engine 2 could not. “Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and reintroduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery,” the AAIB noted in the report. (Image: PTI)

A month after an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad killing 274 people, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has revealed the details of the investigation team probing the disaster.

AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar has appointed Sanjay Kumar Singh as the Investigator-in-Charge and Jasbir Singh Larhga as the Chief Investigator. Vipin Venu Varakoth, Veeraragavan K, and Vaishnav Vijayakumar have been appointed as Investigators.

While Singh currently serves as Director (Investigation) with the AAIB, Larhga is a Deputy Director there, and Varakoth, Veeraragavan K, and Vijayakumar are all Safety Investigation Officers with the organisation.

Singh has served in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and has about three decades of experience in military aviation. He has spent 13 years in airworthiness (squadron, tech flight, and repair unit), carried out technical investigations into several incidents, and was a member of the accident investigation department at AAIB. He has carried out eight Category-I accident investigations and managed another 105 at the Directorate of Aerospace Safety, Air HQ, IAF, for five years.

The Directorate of Aerospace Safety is responsible for laying down procedures for reporting and investigating accidents related to flying / operations, building a cadre of trained investigators, and promoting safety consciousness among Air Force personnel and their families. He was also the commanding officer of a repair and salvage unit.

Prior to his present posting as Director, AAIB, he was appointed Command Maintenance Safety and Inspection Officer at the IAF zonal headquarters in Bengaluru. Here, he was responsible for technical investigations into aircraft accidents and courts of inquiry.

Singh is also the Investigator-in-Charge of the incident involving Air India Express' flight IX-1132 from Bangalore to Kochi, which reported an engine malfunction on May 18, 2024. The plane was climbing up from Bengaluru airport with 185 souls on board, when the right-hand engine caught fire.

The pilots stopped climbing at 6,000 feet, shut the engine down, and discharged the fire extinguishers while returning to Bangalore, but were unable to extinguish the fire. The aircraft landed about 12 minutes after departure, and an emergency evacuation was initiated while the firefighters swung into action. There were no injuries.