Air India Plane Crash: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has set up a high-level committee to investigate the Air India plane crash that killed 241 people on board near Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat on 12 June.
The Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Friday night.
All passengers – except one – on board the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick Airport that crashed shortly after take-off from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad airport on 12 June afternoon died.
There were 242 passengers and crew on board the plane, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. One passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, miraculously survived the crash.
The Committee will not be a substitute for other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations, but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future.
Report in three months
“The committee will have access to all records, including, among others, flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance records, ATC Log and witness testimonies,” the Ministry said in the order.
The committee will publish its report within three months.
The government said that the panel will be headed by the home secretary and will include representatives from the state and central governments, not below the rank of joint secretary.