New Delhi/Ahmedabad: As death toll in the Air India AI 171 air crash rose to 270, the government announced constitution of a high level multi-disciplinary committee headed by the Home Secretary and having officials from Intelligence Bureau (IB), Indian Air Force (IAF), forensic science, civil aviation bodies, and Gujarat state officials to examine the causes leading to the crash of the Air India flight in Ahmedabad on June 12.The Union Civil Aviation ministry said that this committee will not be a substitute to investigations being conducted by other relevant agencies, but will examine, in a holistic way, the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive measures for dealing with such instances in the future. The committee will have access to all records, including flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance logs, ATC logs and witness testimonies. The first meeting of the committee is scheduled for Monday and it will submit its report within three months. This committee will examine the root cause of the crash and will assess contributing factors including mechanical failure, human error, regulatory compliances etc. It will also recommend suitable SOPs, as per best international practices, to prevent such incidents in future and operational improvements to handle post crash situations. “We will do everything to improve safety, which is already robust. We have strict safety standards, robust protocols in the country which we follow all the time,” Civil Aviation Minister Mr K. Rammohan Naidu said on Saturday. Amid concerns of a possible terror act, the minister added that all “theories floating” are being investigated to determine the cause of crash of this plane that had completed the Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector trip without any glitch before the crash. Mr Naidu said decoding of Black Box will provide in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash. Civil Aviation Secretary Mr S.K. Sinha said the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Ahmedabad responded immediately to pilot’s MAY DAY call of 1.39 pm but there was no response from the cockpit and after a minute, the plane crashed in Medhaninagar, located about 2 km from the airport. He added the investigation is going on into the crash. Various agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have visited the crash site in Meghaninagar and lifted samples for probe. The official death toll from the crash has reached 270 after rescue teams recovered more dead bodies and some human body parts from the site. “Around 270 bodies have been brought to the civil hospital so far from the plane crash site,” President of Junior Doctors’ Association of BJ Medical College, Dr Dhaval Gameti, said. The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway. Authorities of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital have so far identified six victims on the basis of the DNA samples and initiated the process to hand over the bodies to the relatives. Earlier, eight victims, who were identified by their relatives and did not need DNA profiling as their bodies were not damaged, were handed over to their families by the hospital. The tail of the crashed plane was removed from the medical college building and taken for investigation. More bodies are expected as debris are cleared from the site. Hostels of the BJ Medical College that were damaged in the Air India plane crash are being vacated for the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) probe. The minister said that as an extended surveillance all Boeings are being inspected. At present Air India has 34 B787s out of which inspection of eight has already been completed after the DGCA ordered enhanced safety inspection of all Air India B787-8/9 fleets following the crash. Air India on Saturday said it is in the process of completing the safety checks on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations. “Air India has completed such checks on nine of the Boeing 787 aircraft and are on track to complete this process for the remaining 24 aircraft within the timeline provided by the regulator. Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes especially those to airports with operating curfews. Customers will be duly notified about any delays. They are advised to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport. For customers affected by this disruption, refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling are being offered to those who opt for it,” the airline spokesperson said on Saturday. The Tata Group will provide Rs 1 crore to the families of each person who lost their lives including passengers, crew members and individuals on the premises. Medical expenses of all those injured will also be covered while ensuring necessary care and support, Tata Sons Spokesperson said. Air India said it will be providing an interim payment of ₹25 lakh each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs. This is in addition to the ₹1 crore support already announced by Tata Sons.
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