The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday announced the constitution of a high level, multi-disciplinary committee headed by the Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan to ensure disasters like the Air India crash on June 12 do not happen in the future. The Committee will formulate SOPs for preventing such mishaps as well as the manner of handling them in the events of their occurrence. The Ministry has given them a three-month deadline to complete the task.
“The Committee will not be a substitute to other inquiries being conducted by relevant organisations but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in future,” it said.
Union Civil Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Saturday afternoon that the Government will look into every possible angle and each piece of information in its quest to find the truth behind the Air India crash on June 12. Naidu, in his first briefing after the Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, said that the black box data from the ill-fated aircraft is being decoded, while multiple agencies and high-level panels are conducting an extensive probe into the incident. The black box data is expected to provide crucial information about the cause of the crash.
The minister said that the Government had set up an additional committee besides the one by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) as well as international investigations to look into all aspects related to it. Before the press conference, a one-minute silence was observed to pay homage to the victims of the Air India plane crash.
“Decoding of the black box is going to give in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash,” Naidu said. The black box of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane that crashed on Thursday was recovered from the site on Friday evening.
“The Ministry is taking the utmost seriousness to the incident. The AAIB was immediately mobilised. The DG AAIB immediately rushed to the site to take stock of the situation. One update from the technical investigation team which is happening through AAIB is the recovery of the black box from the accident site at around 5 pm yesterday,” the minister said.
He added, “the AAIB team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give a, in depth insight into what would have actually happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report is going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation”.
“We have very strict safety standards in the country… and very strict protocols we follow every time. Now after this incident, we felt we should do an extended surveillance of the 34 Dreamliners in operation in the country,” he said.
The minister added that eight of these have already been inspected following the directive issued Friday by aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for enhanced safety inspection of the aircraft type. He, however, did not elaborate on the checks.
The minister said he expected the Government committee to submit its findings within the few months and that “once the report comes, we will ensure, without hesitation, we are going to improve every necessary thing that comes our way. We are going to conduct the investigation with seriousness. Every information and every theory will be analysed,” he said.
The order issued by the Ministry in the wee hours said the Committee will include representatives who are at the rank of Joint Secretary level in the State and Central Governments. Members of the panel include the Union Home Secretary, secretary or joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, secretary of civil aviation, representatives from Gujarat’s home department, the State disaster response authority, Ahmedabad’s police commissioner, the DG of Inspection and Safety at the Indian Air Force, DGs of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, a special director from the Intelligence Bureau, and the director of the Directorate of Forensic Science Services. The committee may also rope in additional members as needed, including aviation experts, legal advisors, and accident investigators.
The Committee will have access to all records, including flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance, ATC log and witness testimonies. It will conduct spot inspections, interview the crew, Air traffic Control and relevant personnel. It will coordinate with international agencies if foreign nationals or aircraft manufacturers are involved.
The Committee would analyse the root cause of the crash. “It will assess contributing factors including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, regulatory compliances and other reasons,” the order said. It will recommend necessary improvements and formulate SOPs to prevent such incidents in the future. The SOP will include best international practices on preventing and handling such incidents.
“It will assess emergency response from various stakeholders, both State and Central Governments, including rescue operations and coordination among them. The Committee will examine past aircraft incidents and draw a comprehensive SOP on the role to be played by all agencies and organisations in a post-crash incident handling and management,”the order read.
The AAIB is investigating the crash, while the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would also be involved in the detailed probe, given that the aircraft is manufactured by an American company-Boeing-and was manufactured in the US. A UK AAIB team is also going to help with the investigation, and so are Boeing and other major component manufacturers like GE (engine manufacturer). According to aircraft accident investigation protocol, the probe report should be finalised within a year.
Naidu also said the Government had requested Air India to assist the families of passengers and “whatever else (that) may be required.” He also said that DNA testing was also progressing fast, so that the bodies of passengers can be returned to their loved ones at the earliest.
“We are hoping the process is complete as soon as possible, but (at the same time) we have to ensure there are no lapses in the protocol to be followed.”