Indian officials condemn Western media over Air India plane crash reports
The aircraft crashed into a medical college hostel in a residential area of Ahmedabad. Among the dead, 52 were British nationals. The sole survivor was a British man, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
'AAIB has made an appeal to all, especially western media houses, which may have a vested interest in the kind of articles they are trying to publish. I believe in AAIB. I believe in the work that they are doing,' he said, according to the Indian Express.
The minister commended the AAIB for decoding the aircraft's black box domestically, describing it as a 'huge success', as previous incidents typically required the data to be sent abroad for analysis.
Mr Kinjarapu's remarks came days after the AAIB publicly urged both the media and the public to 'refrain from spreading premature narratives' about the crash.
Its director general, GVG Yugandhar, noted that the preliminary report aimed only to present early findings and did not apportion blame. He also criticised 'irresponsible' reporting by international media, accusing them of selectively using unverified information to suggest pilot error.
The preliminary report, released on July 12, revealed that both fuel control switches of the Boeing 787-8's engines moved from 'run' to 'cut off' within one second, moments after take-off, leading to an immediate loss of power. The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel was cut off, to which the second replied that he had not done so.
The document does not state who, if anyone, moved the switches, using the neutral term 'transitioned' and offering no conclusions on intent or fault. It also notes no technical fault in the aircraft.
However, some international reports implied pilot error, prompting backlash from India's aviation fraternity.
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