Ahmedabad Air India crash probe draft report likely by October, AAIB opposes release of cockpit recordings

More than a year after an Air India Boeing 787 crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, killing 260 people shortly after takeoff, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has told the Supreme Court that it expects to complete the investigation and submit a draft final report by October this year.

The AAIB also informed the court that there is no need for a court monitored inquiry, stating that the investigation is being conducted in line with India's obligations under international aviation treaties.

In its counter affidavit, the AAIB said the law governing aircraft accident investigations gives it exclusive authority to probe such incidents and does not allow the disclosure of protected investigation material.

Citing Rule 17 of the 2025 Rules, the agency said witness statements, communications between people involved in operating the aircraft, medical and private information, cockpit voice recordings and transcripts, air traffic control recordings, cockpit image recordings and investigators' opinions cannot be made public unless the Central Government decides that disclosure is necessary despite its impact on the ongoing investigation or future inquiries.

The bureau also opposed the petitioners' request to provide cockpit voice recordings to an external committee.

"The Rules, 2025, contain crucial and mandatory safeguards relating to the confidentiality and integrity of investigative material. Rule 17(5) specifically and separately provides that the audio content of cockpit voice recordings shall not be disclosed to the public. This is an absolute statutory prohibition", the affidavit said.

The AAIB said these safeguards are essential to ensure witnesses cooperate freely and investigators can carry out an independent safety probe. It also submitted that only the Central Government has the authority to decide whether protected material should be disclosed, and no such decision has been taken in the present case.

Also Read: US launches fresh strikes after reinstating naval blockade of Iran as battle for Hormuz intensifies

"These protections serve a critical purpose: they preserve the candour of witnesses, the independence of investigators, the integrity of the no-blame investigation process. If witnesses know that their statements may be disclosed. They will become guarded or unwilling to cooperate, thereby defeating the very purpose of the safety investigation", the response added.

The affidavit was filed in response to three writ petitions, including one filed by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was one of the pilots of the flight.

The AAIB also referred to previous investigations to support its projected timeline. It said the Ahmedabad crash, which claimed 241 lives on board and involved victims from multiple countries, is significantly more complex than earlier accidents. The bureau cited investigations into Japan Airlines Flight 516, Jeju Air Flight 2216, the Potomac River mid-air collision and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 to argue that major international aircraft accident investigations routinely take one year or more to complete.