The investigation into the deadly Air India plane crash is entering its third week, with authorities saying they’re looking into ‘all angles’.
Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol said investigators are looking into each explanation for what caused Flight 171 to crash on June 12, killing 240 passengers immediately.
‘It’s never happened before that each engines have shut off together,’ he told news channel NDTV.
‘The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has begun a full investigation into it … it’s being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footage is being reviewed and all angles are being assessed.’
But questions are being raised concerning the lack of understanding released from authorities, nearing a month on from the tragic crash.
Aviation consultant Bernard Lavelle told Metro that questions across the Air India investigation have focused on the black boxes – evaluation began just days ago, despite the boxes being found 2 weeks ago.
‘They sat there for every week, with no data download, which is unusual given they said the investigation can be fully transparent,’ he said.
Normally, authorities also host day by day media conferences throughout the first week period for updates, which has not been done, and created a dangerous information vacuum for conspiracy theories, he added.
When Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared in March 2014, officials held day by day conferences for weeks.
‘There have been wild rumours concerning the crash causes, most of that are all nonsense because they haven’t come from official channels. But because investigators haven’t been telling people what’s happening, it’s created an information vacuum which individuals then fill with nonsense,’ he said.
Mr Lavelle told Metro that the authorities’ mentioning that they wouldn’t rule out sabotage is probably going a direct response to questions asked concerning the reasons behind the flight.
However the delay in analysing the black boxes has raised two major concerns, Mr Lavelle said, each human and technical.
‘Families and friends of those that died need to know what happened, and so they aren’t getting that information,’ he added.
Though there aren’t any indications of a technical issue with the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Mr Lavelle says the general public needs a sign as to what the faults were on this crash, to see if any technical faults could develop on other aircraft.
Evaluation of the raw data from the black boxes could take a while. The UN recommends that countries publish a preliminary report inside 30 days of the incident.
Its guidance states that the ultimate report ought to be made available within the ‘shortest possible time’, ideally inside a yr.
Days ago, Air India was forced to apologise after leaked footage showed the bosses of one among its joint ventures partying just days after the air disaster.
Viral footage showed executives of Air India SATS (AISATS), the airline’s cargo and ground handling arm, dancing to blaring music.
The clip was believed to have been filmed at the corporate’s offices in Gurugam, near Delhi on June 20.
AISATS said in a press release: ‘AISATS is aware of a video being circulated on social media that unfortunately is totally out of context.
‘Notwithstanding, we sincerely regret any emotional discomfort this may increasingly have caused.’
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