Air India Ahmedabad Crash: Pilots' union warns against unfounded blame, demands data-driven probe

As the debate rages over the preliminary report in the Ahmedabad Air India crash last month that claimed nearly 300 lives, the pilots’ union has once again raised concerns over the ‘speculative commentary.’

In a letter issued on Wednesday, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) expressed serious concern regarding the preliminary findings and public discourse surrounding the tragic crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad.

“At the outset, we would like to register our dissatisfaction with the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation process. We also firmly object to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly,” the letter said.

The letter questioned the manner in which the cockpit recording was released in public to build a commentary against the pilots of the ill-fated Ahmedabad-London flight. “The report, as released, lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely selectively on paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to suggest pilot error and question the professional competence and integrity of the flight crew. This approach is neither objective nor complete. We therefore urge our members and the general public not to lend credence to such premature conclusions,” the union said in the letter.