The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will take up probe into the Air India flight AI 171 crash as mystery shrouds the way the London-bound plane went down shortly after take off from Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday killing 241 people onboard and several others on the ground.
Following the crash, a formal investigation has been initiated by the AAIB, in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), reports said.
Additionally, the government is constituting a “high-level committee” comprising experts from multiple disciplines to examine the matter in detail, Union minister of civil aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement. The committee will work to strengthen aviation safety and prevent such incidents in future, he said.
In a statement on the Air India flight AI 171 crash, US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding Air India flight AI-171, operating from Ahmedabad (AMD) to London Gatwick (LGW), that was involved in an accident in India on June 12.
"When an international incident occurs, that government leads the investigation. In the event assistance is requested, the NTSB is the official US representative and the FAA provides technical support. We stand ready to launch a team immediately in coordination with the NTSB," the statement noted.
"At DOT (U.S. Department of Transport) and FAA, safety always comes first. In this investigation, we are going to follow facts. As the acting administrator will discuss, we are in the process of deploying a team from FAA, from the NTSB. We also have GE and Boeing, they are deploying their investigators to India. India leads the investigation. We are there to provide any assistance that India may need,” US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has been quoted as saying by Fortune India.
The Air India 787-8 Dreamliner passenger list had 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and a Canadian national. Gujarat ex-Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was aboard the ill-fated flight.