Overview

• A writ petition filed on October 10 by Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots asks the Supreme Court to shut the AAIB probe and transfer all evidence to a court-monitored committee of independent aviation experts.
• The filing alleges the AAIB’s preliminary report is defective and biased toward pilot error and argues the probe team’s composition—featuring DGCA officials and manufacturer representatives—violates principles of independence under ICAO norms.
• Cited anomalies include premature Ram Air Turbine deployment before crew inputs, failure of the Emergency Locator Transmitter, and a flight recorder casing found melted without soot, which the petitioners say point to electrical or software failures.
• AAIB’s preliminary report found both engine fuel control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF within about one second and referenced cockpit audio of a pilot questioning a fuel cut; the government has defended the ongoing investigation as thorough.
• The new petition has not yet been listed for hearing, following a September Supreme Court order seeking responses in a separate case that questioned selective leaks and aspects of the preliminary report into the June 12 crash that killed about 260 people near Ahmedabad.