Veteran pilot Captain RS Sandhu joins Air India crash probe: Report
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Veteran pilot Captain RS Sandhu joins Air India crash probe: Report
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has reportedly roped in veteran pilot and former Air India director of operations Captain RS Sandhu as a domain expert. Captain Sandhu is currently the founder of the aviation consultancy firm Aviazione and has also led the integration team for Tata Group’s airlines. On June 12, the Air India Boeing 787-8, operating a flight from Gujarat’ Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed into a building shortly after takeoff. The crash killed 260 people, including 19 individuals on the ground as the plane plumetted into a hostel building. Of the 242 people onboard, only one passenger survived.
On June 12, the Air India Boeing 787-8, operating a flight from Gujarat’ Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed into a building shortly after takeoff. The crash killed 260 people, including 19 individuals on the ground as the plane plumetted into a hostel building. Of the 242 people onboard, only one passenger survived.
Captain Sandhu, a seasoned aviator who served Air India for nearly four decades, was also the designated examiner for the Boeing 787-8 fleet and had personally taken delivery of the now-crashed aircraft — VT-ANB — back in 2013.
On July 12, AAIB released its preliminary report on the incident, and the full-scale investigation continues with the inclusion of several subject matter experts.
“AAIB has onboarded seasoned aviator RS Sandhu in the ongoing investigation of the Air India Boeing 787-8 plane crash in Ahmedabad last month,” PTI news agency quoted a source.
According to sources, the AAIB approached Sandhu with the request to join the investigation team as a domain expert, and he accepted.
Who is Captain Sandhu?
Captain Sandhu is currently the founder of the aviation consultancy firm Aviazione and has also led the integration team for Tata Group’s airlines.
His inclusion comes amid growing concerns from various pilot unions about the need for technical expertise in the probe. The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India) has repeatedly called on the AAIB to involve pilot representatives in the investigation.
“AAIB has onboarded seasoned aviator RS Sandhu in the ongoing investigation of the Air India Boeing 787-8 plane crash in Ahmedabad last month,” a source said, according to the PTI report.
Details of other domain experts assisting the AAIB have not been disclosed at this time.
The investigation team, led by 56-year-old Sanjay Kumar Singh, includes five members.
According to the AAIB, experienced professionals from multiple disciplines — including pilots, engineers, aviation medicine specialists, aviation psychologists, and flight recorder analysts — are part of the expert group assisting with the investigation.
The Air India crash preliminary probe report released AAIB found that the fuel switches of both engines were cut off within seconds of takeoff. As per the cockpit voice recording cited in the report, First Officer Clive Kunder is heard asking Captain Sumeet Sabharwal why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so, according to the AAIB report.