India’s Supreme Court said the preliminary report into the Air India crash does not insinuate anything against the captain, but judges will consider a plea from the pilot’s father for an independent investigation.
In June, Air India Flight 171 to London Gatwick struck a building shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board, while a further 19 people died on the ground.
Briton Viswashkumar Ramesh was the only passenger who walked away from the wreckage.
In an interview with Sophy Ridge on the Mornings with Ridge and Frost programme, Mr Ramesh said he had been “broken down” by the trauma.
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On Friday, Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, 91, called for the Supreme Court to order an investigation by a panel of aviation experts into the crash. A hearing to consider that plea is scheduled for 10 November.
His son Sumeet Sabharwal was the captain on the flight and was in charge as the pilot-in-command, while Clive Kunder was the first officer flying the plane.
Mr Sabharwal has called for an independent committee to examine the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, and criticised the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
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Weeks earlier, he said two officials from the AAIB visited him and had implied that his son cut the fuel to the plane’s engine after take-off.
The government has denied such accusations, calling the investigation “very clean” and “very thorough”.
According to a preliminary report, published by the AAIB in July, switches in the cockpit that controlled fuel were moved to a “CUTOFF” position.
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It added that, in an audio recording from the cockpit, one of the pilots is then heard asking the other why he “cut off”. The other pilot responds that he did not do so.
The 15-page report did not identify which comments were made by the flight’s captain and which were made by the first officer.
Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on the 787.
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A total of 241 people were on board the plane, including 53 UK citizens.
Mr Ramesh has been offered a flat interim payment of £21,500 – a one-off sum given to a claimant in advance of reaching the end of a personal injury claim.
Mr Ramesh, who lives in Leicester with his wife and their four-year-old son, told Sky News he is still suffering physical discomfort, dealing with knee, shoulder and back pain, along with burns to his left arm.
