By News18,Ranu Joardar

Copyright news18

Months after Air India crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad killing 260 people, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal who was one of the pilots, has demanded a formal investigation by the central government, claiming that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) findings have tarnished his son’s image.
A total of 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
According to PTI, 91-year-old Pushkaraj has written a letter to the civil aviation secretary and AAIB Director General saying that selective leaks about the accident have led to speculation that Sumeet (56) was under tremendous psychological pressure and therefore was contemplating committing suicide.
“These innuendos have very adversely affected my health and mental setup and the reputation of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. They tarnish Captain Sabharwal’s reputation, which is a fundamental right guaranteed to a citizen of India under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the letter, dated August 29, said.
He also demanded the Centre to order a formal enquiry into the accident under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017.
As per Rule 12, the Centre can set up a formal investigation into circumstances of any accident of an Indian registered aircraft if it appears that it is expedient to hold such a probe.
Pushkaraj also refuted speculations about the mental health of his son. Citing reports, he said it was suggested that Sumeet was divorced and that caused him anxiety and depression.
“It even ignores the fact that Captain Sabharwal was divorced about 15 years ago. The other speculation relating to the cause for Captain Sabharwal being desirous of committing suicide has been his mother’s death. His mother died more than three years ago. After that, Captain Sabharwal had operated more than 100 flights without any incident or accident,” Pushkaraj said in the letter.
“It is most pertinent to note that in over 25 years of flying, Captain Sabharwal had not had a single incident or accident-causing fatalities or otherwise,” the letter said.
According to PTI, Captain Sabharwal had almost 15,638.22 hours of flying experience out of which 8,596 hours were on the 787-8 aircraft. He was also designated as a Pilot Trainer i.e a Line Training Captain and had the DGCA licence for the purpose.
In response to the letter, Ministry of Civil Aviation officials told CNN Network 18: “We are committed to a free fair and holistic probe – the ministry has therefore maintained an entire arm’s-length distance from the probe team.”
“All the resources that are required to conduct a fair probe have been ensured by the government to adhere to international protocol,” they added.
In the preliminary report published on July 12, AAIB had said that it was too early to draw any “definite conclusions” on what led to the accident as the investigation was still on and that the final report will come out with the root causes, PTI reported.
“The preliminary report on the contrary does not allude to the ‘what’ happened or the bare facts of the crash, instead resorting to insinuations on the one hand and offering copious clean chits to the manufacturer/s on the other. The report in its present form is deficient, diversionary & discrepant,” the letter said.
It also stated that selective information of the preliminary investigation has been put out in the public domain and the material gathered during such investigation has been released which include the contents of the cockpit voice recorder.