AAIB ropes in veteran pilot Sandhu as domain expert in AI plane crash probe

Mumbai | The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has roped in veteran pilot and Air India's former director of operations Captain RS Sandhu as a domain expert in the ongoing probe into the Ahmedabad plane crash that killed 260 persons last month, sources said on Sunday.

Sandhu, who was also a designated examiner for the Boeing 787-8 fleet at Air India, had taken delivery of the now-crashed 787-8 plane -- VT-ANB -- in 2013.

On June 12, Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad crashed into a building soon after takeoff, killing 260 people, including 19 people on the ground. Out of the 242 people onboard, one passenger survived.

On July 12, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report into the fatal crash.

"AAIB has onboarded seasoned aviator RS Sandhu in the ongoing investigation of the Air India Boeing 787-8 plane crash in Ahmedabad last month," one of the sources told PTI.

AAIB had apparently approached Sandhu to be a domain expert in the ongoing probe, and he agreed to the proposal, the sources said.

Sandhu, who was with Air India for close to 39 years in various capacities, is the founder of aviation consultancy firm Aviazione. He had also headed a team that worked on the integration of the Tata Group airlines.

Various pilot unions had raised concerns over the absence of subject matter experts in the probe. Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India) has been urging AAIB to include its representatives in the Air India aircraft crash probe.

Details about other domain experts, who are part of the AAIB investigation, could not be immediately ascertained.

A five-member team, headed by 56-year-old Sanjay Kumar Singh, is probing the fatal crash of the Air India aircraft.

Experienced pilots, engineers, aviation medicine specialists, aviation psychologists and flight recorder specialists have been taken on board as subject matter experts to assist in the investigation in the area of their domain expertise, according to AAIB.

Delhi-bound Air India Express flight cancelled due to technical snag, chaos at Ranchi airport

Ranchi | A Delhi-bound Air India flight was cancelled on Sunday due to a technical snag, causing a chaotic situation at the airport here, officials said.

Passengers were seen arguing with the airline's staff about rescheduling.

"The AIX (Air India Express) 1200 from Ranchi to Delhi has been cancelled due to a technical issue. While checking the aircraft before takeoff, the technical snag was detected," Airport director RR Maurya told PTI.

The flight was scheduled to take off at 6 pm.

Maurya said some passengers were accommodated on other flights, while several others had their tickets cancelled. A few passengers were rescheduled for Monday, he said.

A 39-year-old passenger, Faiz Anwar, told PTI, "We boarded the flight around 5.20 pm and waited till 7 pm when all of a sudden we were asked to deboard without providing any reason. I have to attend an important meeting in Delhi tomorrow, but they are not ready to reschedule my flight."

He claimed there were many passengers, who had to catch connecting international flights from Delhi for the UK, the US and South Africa, but no one was there to pay heed to their requests.

"There is complete mismanagement and chaos," he alleged.

Meanwhile, around 30 metres of the boundary wall on the southern side of the Birsa Munda Airport here collapsed on Sunday amid rain for over a month, according to an airport release.

The situation was promptly assessed, and immediate measures have been taken to ensure complete safety and security of the airport premises, it added.

Additional CISF personnel have been deployed to strengthen perimeter security, and the affected section of the wall has been barricaded as a precautionary step, the release said.

"We have already initiated necessary actions to restore the boundary. Importantly, there has been no impact on airport operations, and all services continue to function smoothly. The safety and security of our passengers and facilities remain our highest priority," it added.