New Delhi [India], July 10 (HBTV): A parliamentary panel on Wednesday discussed safety measures in the civil aviation sector, with senior officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), and private airlines presenting their reports, according to sources.
JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, who chairs the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, described the meeting as ‘very good’. He noted that India’s aviation sector has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, especially following the implementation of the UDAN scheme.
Sources said senior officials of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) informed the panel that the preliminary report on the June 12 plane crash in Ahmedabad is expected to be released in the coming days.
Several committee members raised questions and sought clarifications regarding safety standards and aircraft maintenance protocols. The discussion also included concerns about the expansion of the aviation sector, projected passenger growth, and the need to strengthen maintenance infrastructure.
Members specifically referred to the crash of Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, which went down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, resulting in the deaths of over 250 people.
AAIB officials reportedly told the panel that the black box was intact and that data retrieval and analysis are underway. They stated that the preliminary report would be made public within 30 days of the accident.
The agenda of the meeting was to hear the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation on an ‘Overall review of safety in the Civil Aviation Sector’. The meeting, which started at 11 a.m., lasted until nearly 6 p.m., with representatives from Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa Air in attendance.
On Tuesday, members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) raised additional concerns about aviation safety following the AI-171 crash and the sudden spike in airfares from Srinagar after the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, sources said.
The investigation into the crash is being led by the AAIB Director General and includes experts from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the official investigative body from the aircraft’s country of design. Specialists in aviation medicine and air traffic control are also part of the inquiry team.
According to officials, this is the first time India is decoding black box data domestically. On June 25, the memory module was successfully accessed, and its data downloaded at the AAIB laboratory.
(ANI)