Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Writes To MoCA Min Naidu, Demands Formal Inquiry In Leaking Of AI Crash Report To Foreign media

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday wrote to Union Civil Avaiation Minister K Rammohan Naidu over the leak of the Aircraft Airline Investigation Bureau (AAIB) preliminary report of the Air India AI171 crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to foreign media and demanded for an inquiry for the leak. 

In her two page letter to Naidu, Chaturvedi said, “I write to you to express serious concerns regarding the manner in which the recent interim investigation report by the AAIB was handled and disseminated, particularly in light of media reports surfacing in international publications before the report was officially made public in India.”

She highlighted that it is “deeply troubling” that sensitive details of the AAIB report were available to foreign news agencies and published in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal before any official release in India. 

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said: “This raises urgent questions about how the contents of the report were accessed by foreign entities prior to their dissemination to the Indian public and concerned stakeholders.” 

“Such a breach not only undermines the credibility of our aviation safety institutions but also reflects a serious lapse in information security and protocol,” she noted.

Chaturvedi further said that the nonstop insinuations made against the deceased pilots through implication and selective leaks of the interim report as well as through international media’s narrative is absolutely reprehensible. 

“Such motivated speculation via broadcast, print and digital platforms shows a more sinister attempt to malign our pilots who aren’t alive to put their case even Pilot associations have raised their objections,” she said.

She also pointed out that the report was quietly released during late hours, with no public briefing, no signed interim findings, and no clarity on the process that led to its release. 

“The lack of transparency in such a critical matter gives rise to legitimate concerns about whose interests are being served and whether due process has been followed,” she alleged.

She also pointed out to the Pilots Association publicly voicing their apprehensions about the composition of the investigation team. 

“They have pointed out that no experienced aviator appears to have been involved in the investigation process, and have even offered to contribute voluntarily as observers to ensure credibility, technical insight, and fair representation,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) lwader said.

She also demanded the Minister to order a formal inquiry into the leak of the report contents to international media prior to its public release in India.

Chaturvedi also demanded for transparency in authorship and accountability, the names of all members of the investigation panel to be made public, and the interim report should bear the signatures of each panel member.

She also demanded for issuance of clear media guidelines by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on how interim reports from regulatory and investigative bodies such as AAIB should be reported upon, considering their potential impact on aviation personnel, airline operations, and public perception globally and inclusion of experienced aviators in every stage of such investigations, either as investigators or as qualified observers, to ensure technical accuracy and stakeholder confidence.

The AAIB preliminary report was released on July 12 early hours which claimed that a cut off in the fuel supply to both the engines of the Air India’s London Gatwick bound AI171 caused last month’s crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad that killed over 260 people. 

According to the 15 page report prepared by India’s AAIB, the fuel control switches in the cockpit of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had been flipped, starving the engines of fuel.

Investigators at AAIB were able to get data out of the plane’s black box recorders, including 49 hours of flight data and two hours of cockpit audio, including from the crash.

The report highlighted: “The aircraft had reached an airspeed of 180 knots when both engines’ fuel cutoff switches were transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.” 

ALSO READ: Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya’s Execution In Yemen: Supreme Court Told India Can’t Intervene Further