Supreme Court: Air India Crash Report Does Not Blame Pilot

India’s Supreme Court stated on Friday that the preliminary investigation report into the deadly Air India crash does not suggest any wrongdoing by the pilot. The court has scheduled a hearing for November 10 to consider a request for an independent probe into the tragedy.

The crash, which occurred in June, killed all 260 people on board. Since then, the incident has been under investigation by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, the 91-year-old father of pilot Sumeet Sabharwal, has filed a petition asking for a fresh investigation. He wants the probe to be led by aviation experts under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge.

The elderly father raised concerns after two officials from the investigation bureau visited him. According to Sabharwal, the officials hinted that his son may have deliberately cut off fuel to the aircraft’s engines shortly after takeoff.

The government has strongly rejected these allegations. Officials described the ongoing investigation as “very clean” and “very thorough,” dismissing any claims of bias or improper conduct.

According to the interim report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the plane’s fuel engine switches moved from the “run” position to “cutoff” almost at the same time, moments after the aircraft took off. However, the report does not draw any conclusions about whether this was intentional or the result of a technical failure.

The Supreme Court’s upcoming hearing on November 10 will examine whether an independent investigation panel should be formed to review the case.

The crash remains one of the most tragic aviation accidents in recent Indian history, and families of the victims continue to seek answers about what went wrong that day.