Star Metro - Pilots demand answers ahead of Air India crash anniversary

Families of the victims had expected a final report by Friday to explain the cause of the disaster -- exactly a year after the Boeing 787-8 crashed in a fireball shortly after takeoff and smashed into a medical college.

But with investigations continuing, local media suggest India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will only issue an interim report -- frustrating those awaiting clear answers about why their relatives died.

"I don't have much trust," said Charanvir Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members.

"I will be very honest; they are not transparent at all," Randhawa told AFP.

His organisation has criticised the composition of the initial investigation team, and its decision to question the family of one of the deceased pilots.

- 'Path toward answers' -

On Friday, relatives of the victims will meet in Ahmedabad at a conference organised by lawyers, along with aviation and air safety experts, to "discuss the path toward answers and safer skies".

It also plans to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of those who died -- 241 of the 242 people on board, and 19 on the ground.

Among the dead were 200 Indians, 52 British citizens, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

Only one passenger survived, Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who told the Press Association news agency that he continued to "live with the significant psychological scars" following the crash, in which his brother died, and "the constant unanswered questions" about why it took place.

"Those questions are not just on my mind -- they are on the minds of every affected family," he said.

"Nothing will ever change what happened, but families deserve clarity."

As required by international law, the AAIB published a preliminary report on July 12, 2025, a month after the disaster.

That 15-page document said the fuel supply to the jet's engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error.

- 'Flawed' report

It also published a conversation between the captain and his co-pilot about the fuel supply being cut off -- two brief sentences that sparked theories of pilot suicide.

The report was met with strong criticism.

It did not say why the fuel switches were turned off -- whether that was the fault of a pilot or a result of a malfunction.

Pushkaraj Sabharwal, 91, father of pilot Sumeet Sabharwal, called that report "profoundly flawed" and filed a petition at India's Supreme Court.

He argued it focused on the dead pilots "while failing to examine or eliminate other more plausible technical and procedural causes of the crash".

Randhawa worries another inconclusive finding could result in "far more speculations" rather than understanding the disaster.

"You have to give an indication. Why did the crash occur?"

In May, the FIP pilot group submitted a letter to the aviation ministry calling for further investigation to rule out electrical failure.

"Even if they are going to take more than one year, they should say: 'We are still investigating'," he said.

"They should publish the full investigation report."

N.Fournier--SMC