A preliminary report into the doomed Air India Flight 171 that crashed moments after take off has been submitted to Indian authorities – but there is currently no obligation to make it public.
The report has been filed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and is based on the initial findings of the probe, marking 30 days since the crash.
Aviation experts stress the preliminary report would unlikely go into the causes of the crash but would indicate steps investigators are following, notable findings, the sequence of events and available evidence.
Video footage of the flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick showed the aircraft unable to maintain thrust soon after take-off and could not climb over 625 feet in altitude.
It plummeted into a busy area, killing 241 passengers and 19 others on the ground while incinerating everything around it.
Of the 53 British nationals on board only one passenger – Vishwas Kumar Prakash, seated on 11A – miraculously escaped when the aircraft broke up after it slammed into a building.
According to guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), investigators should release a preliminary report within a month of the accident.
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But there is currently no obligation for India’s Civil Aviation Authority to make the report public. In the 2020 Calicut Air India Express crash that killed 21 people Indian Authorities did not release the preliminary report.
Given the nature of the tragedy involving dozens of foreign citizens and the global spotlight of the accident there will be pressure and expectations to release it.
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Because an aircraft accident investigation is solely carried out to learn lessons and prevent a repeat incident, it does not apportion blame or trace culprits, so most countries release their preliminary findings.
Indonesia released its report on its Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crash in 2018, that killed all 189 on board, within a month.
Aviation investigations are often exceptionally complex, painstaking, time-consuming and the final report could take many months or a year to conclude.
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Captain Amit Singh, founder of Safety Matters Foundation, an NGO dedicated to aviation safety, told Sky News accidents in aviation are “rarely isolated events”.
“They are the result of a chain of overlooked warnings, normalised deviance, and systemic complacency,” he said.
India’s aviation sector is one of the fastest growing in the world, clocking over 10% growth a year since 2011, excluding the COVID years. It’s the third-largest air transport market behind the United States and China.
Data from India’s Civil Aviation Ministry show there are around 6,900 domestic and international flights that carry more than a million passengers daily.
In 2023 the industry generated US $53.6bn (£39.6bn), contributing 1.5% of the country’s GDP and employing almost eight million people.
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While the number of reported near misses is decreasing every year, the industry faces challenges in maintaining safety standards. Within 36 hours of the AI171 crash, four other separate in-flight emergencies were reported.
India lacks an autonomous body or an ombudsman like the UK Civil Aviation Authority that can look into safety measures, maintenance practices, improved air traffic management and regulatory oversight into systemic issues.
AI171 was ‘inevitable’
Air India was bought in 2022 by the Tata Group – one of the most respected Indian conglomerates that makes everything from salt to software to Jaguar and Land Rover.
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But the crash has dealt a serious blow to its image amid the group’s efforts to modernise the airlines.
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Captain Singh said: “the Tata Group, inherited a legacy riddled with systemic issues, ranging from outdated procedures to an entrenched bureaucratic safety culture”.
