16 June 2025
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
AI 171 Crash: Don’t Supplant Existing Investigation
With regard to the tragic crash of Air India 171 in Ahmedabad, as per international protocols and norms set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has commenced its independent investigation into the causes and circumstances surrounding the crash. In pursuit of this task, AAIB will take possession of the “black boxes” of the aircraft and all other evidence, and complete its investigations in cooperation with concerned international bodies, aircraft and engine manufacturers and other stakeholders.
In a surprise development, the Government of India has set up a “High Level Committee” (HLC) chaired by the Home Secretary with many of the same goals, such as to determine the “root cause” of the accident with access to the “black boxes” and interact with international bodies, along with several other objectives. Having a parallel high-powered governmental air crash investigation committee filled with bureaucrats will undermine the AAIB investigation and raise doubts about possible government interference, the very purpose of constituting the AAIB under ICAO Annex 13.
The CPI (M) demands that the terms of reference of the HLC be immediately revised to remove all overlaps with the AAIB investigation, especially as to the cause and circumstances of the crash of AI-171. The accident investigation is better left to professionals and experts. The HLC should instead go into the Ahmedabad and other earlier crash investigation reports to formulate binding rules and mechanisms for strict implementation to prevent settlements and buildings coming up within prescribed distance and safety parameters in the proximity of airports. In Ahmedabad, but for chance many more casualties could have occurred on the ground, where large medical facilities were also very close by. Firm steps are required to prevent such occurrence in future.
(Muralidharan)
For CPI(M) Central Committee Office