The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has sent a legal notice to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), accusing it of acting beyond its jurisdiction and harassing a commercial pilot by calling him. The federation says that the pilot had nothing to do with the horrific Air India plane crash that took place in Ahmedabad last year.
In a strongly worded notice sent by the FIP to the AAIB Director General and a senior official, the federation has objected to the summoning of Captain Varun Anand in connection with the investigation into the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash involving aircraft VT-ANB at Ahmedabad on June 12 last year. Captain Anand is the nephew of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command who died in the accident. Captain Anand is a narrow-body aircraft pilot of Air India and is also a member of FIP.
According to the notice, Captain Anand was informed by his employer company Air India that he had been summoned by AAIB, but did not give any specific information about the legal basis or purpose of the summons. FIP said in its notice, “The said notice does not provide information under which legal provision or purpose Captain Anand has been called, nor is it given why his presence is necessary.”
The federation insisted that Captain Anand had no role, involvement or knowledge related to the accident. “Captain Varun Anand is a commercial pilot and had no connection with the aircraft, the flight in question, planning, dispatch, certification, maintenance, operation, airworthiness clearance or crew composition,” the notice said. This notice has been sent on January 11.
It was also said that he was neither present at the accident site nor did he have “any factual, technical or operational information related to the circumstances of the said accident”.
The federation said that calling the relatives of the crew killed in the accident points to a disturbing investigative approach. “Summoning the nephew of the deceased pilot and his relatives, even though they have no connection with the incident, reinforces the suspicion that such steps were not based on the need for any legal investigation,” the notice said.
Citing the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules and ICAO Annex 13, the federation also alleged that the AAIB had grossly exceeded its jurisdiction. "Summoning Captain Anand and other family members is completely without jurisdiction. It is also against the said rules, which limit the investigation into the accident to strictly technical, safety-oriented fact-finding and categorically prohibit fixing of blame or responsibility," the notice said.
The Federation clearly rejected the idea of calling Captain Anand as any kind of witness. He said, “Captain Anand is neither a factual witness, nor a technical witness, nor an expert witness of any kind in relation to this accident.”
Pilots' organization FIP also told that this investigation is already in the Supreme Court. The notice said, “The father of Late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and our client have already filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the independence and impartiality of the investigation being conducted by the AAIB.”
Calling the notice completely inappropriate and disturbing, the FIP said, "Summoning Captain Anand without adequate notice, especially when he was not even a witness to the incident, is completely inappropriate. And amounts to harassment and distress after a tragic loss. It causes professional and reputational harm to our client."
Flight AI 171 crashed on June 12, soon after taking off from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. The plane caught fire just seconds after takeoff. The debris of the plane fell on a medical hostel complex. A total of 260 people, including 241 people on board the plane, were killed in this accident. While one was left alive.
