NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday announced the constitution of a high level, multi-disciplinary committee headed by the Union Home Secretary to ensure disasters like the Air India crash on June 12 do not happen in the future.
The team will formulate SOPs for preventing such mishaps as well as the manner of handling them in the events of their occurrence. MoCA has given them a three-month deadline to complete the task.
The order issued by the Ministry in the wee hours said the Committee will include representatives who are at the rank of Joint Secretary level in the State and Central governments. "The Committee will not be a substitute to other inquiries being conducted by relevant organisations but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in future," it said.
AI 171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) crashed as soon as it took off, killing nearly 260 flyers.
The Committee would analyse the root cause of the crash. "It will assess contributing factors including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, regulatory compliances and other reasons," the order said.
It will recommend necessary improvements and formulate SOPs to prevent such incidents in the future. The SOP will include best international practices on preventing and handling such incidents.
"It will assess emergency response from various stakeholders, both State and Central governments, including rescue operations and coordination among them. The Committee will examine past aircraft incidents and draw a comprehensive SOP on the role to be played by all agencies and organisations in a post-crash incident handling and management,"the order read.
It will suggest policy changes, operational improvements and training enhancements to prevent such recurrences.
The committee must submit its report within three months, it ordered.
It will have access to all records, including flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance, ATC log and witness testimonies. It will conduct spot inspections, interview the crew, Air traffic Control and relevant personnel.
It will coordinate with international agencies if foreign nationals or aircraft manufacturers are involved.
The Team:
The committee will have the following members:
"Union Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (Chairman);
*Secretary, Civil Aviation Ministry;
*Joint Secretary/Addl Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs;
*Representative from Home Department, Gujarat;
*Representative from State Disaster Response Authority, Gujarat;
*Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad;
*Director General, Inspection and Safety, Indian Air Force.
*Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security
*Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation;
*Special Director, IB
"Director, Directorate of Forensic Science Services;
*Any other members deemed fit by the committee like aviation experts, accident investigators and legal advisors.
