AI 171 crash: A year on, central panel’s probe report yet to come

Ahmedabad: A year after the Air India plane crash of June 12, 2025, the families of the deceased are still waiting to learn what went wrong that day, with key investigation reports yet to be submitted. The Union govt set up a committee to probe the disaster on June 13, 2025, and later the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was also assigned an inquiry. According to highly placed sources in the state home department, neither the AAIB nor the Centre has filed its report so far.

The high-level committee, headed by the Union home secretary, was asked to examine the causes of the crash, review existing safety protocols, assess the emergency response, and recommend measures and standard operating procedures to prevent and manage similar tragedies. It had been directed to submit its findings within three months.

Gujarat DGP G S Malik, who was the city police commissioner at the time of the accident and served on the Union govt’s high-level committee, said police had completed their part. “Our police have submitted our findings about the case and regarding the rescue operations. The Union home secretary would know better about the report,” he told TOI.

Union home secretary Govind Mohan could not be reached for comment despite calls and messages.

For the families, the wait has been agonising. Vishvesh Babu, who works for a private firm in the UK, lost his 47-year-old brother, Manish Babu, in the crash. “We should know what happened that day. Every time, we hear that no report has come and it is still in process,” he said. “Authorities should ensure no such tragedy takes place in the future, and that is possible only with the findings of the crash investigation.”