Listen to this article:

New Delhi: Over a month after Air India flight AI 171, headed from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London’s Gatwick, crashed on June 12, killing 241 people on board, Union minister for civil aviation K. Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday (July 21) told parliament that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is “totally unbiased” and is carrying out a definitive and thorough rule-based probe. In a separate written reply, Naidu said that a total of nine show cause notices have been issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations in the last six months.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the question hour, Naidu’s statement came in response to a question by BJP MP Ashok Chavan who asked about the probe into the crash as well as the fuel switches being cut off mid-air. 

“To have a definitive answer we have to look at the final report. I can say this to the House and through you to the people of this country that the AAIB has a very definitive, thorough, rule-based process. They are very transparently looking into the process and they are totally unbiased and looking into the facts,” said Naidu.

In response to a written question by CPI(M) MP John Brittas, Naidu said that during the last six months, “no adverse trend has been reported in reliability reports of Air India in respect of crashed aircraft.”

“During the last six months, a total of nine show cause notices have been issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations. Enforcement action has been completed in respect of one violation,” he said.

On July 12, the AAIB’s

© The Wire