India has not allowed a United Nations investigator to be involved in the investigation into the Air India plane crash, which some security experts have criticized for delays in analyzing critical data from the "black boxes." This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Earlier this week, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), operating under the auspices of the UN, took an unusual step — offering India the assistance of its investigator after the crash of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on June 12 in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 260 people.
Unlike previous cases — such as the shooting down of a Malaysian plane in 2014 or a Ukrainian airliner in 2020 — this time ICAO itself initiated the offer of assistance, rather than responding to a request.
ICAO requested observer status for its representative, but Indian authorities refused, sources said. The Indian TV channel Times Now first reported this on June 26.
The Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is leading the investigation into the largest aviation disaster of the decade, did not respond to a request for comment. ICAO also did not provide an immediate response.
India's Ministry of Civil Aviation reported on Thursday that data analysis from the flight recorders has been ongoing for about two weeks after the crash.
Earlier, security experts expressed concern about the lack of information regarding the progress of the investigation — particularly, the status of the combined flight recorder unit found on June 13, and also the second unit discovered on June 16.
Questions also arose as to where the data would be read: in India or in the USA, since the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is participating in the investigation. The Indian authorities held only one press conference after the disaster, during which no questions were taken.
According to international regulations, known in the industry under the legal name "Annex 13", the decision on where to read data from the recorders should be made immediately — especially in cases where the information obtained can prevent future tragedies.
Earlier this week, a representative of the Indian aviation ministry, on condition of anonymity, stated that the department "adheres to all ICAO protocols." He also added that the media had already been informed about key events.
Most airplane crashes are the result of a combination of several factors. A preliminary report is usually published approximately 30 days after the incident.
Addition
The disaster occurred just seconds after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London, took off. The airliner crashed into a medical college dormitory. Due to extensive damage and fire, identification of bodies proved impossible without DNA analysis. The transfer of remains to relatives began only three days after the tragedy.
The Ahmedabad air crash has already been called the deadliest aviation tragedy of the last decade worldwide. It caused a wave of inspections in India's rapidly growing aviation sector.
Thus, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA) initiated a special audit after the disaster. The agency found recurring defects in aircraft maintenance at the country's largest airports - Delhi and Mumbai.
"Recurring problems indicate ineffective monitoring and inadequate measures to eliminate shortcomings," the official DGCA statement says.
The audit also revealed violations by engineers: neglect of safety protocols, ignoring certain malfunctions, and non-compliance with technical instructions during aircraft maintenance.