Parliamentary Panel To Grill Boeing, Air India Executives On Ahmedabad Crash

The Parliamentary Committee on Transport has summoned Boeing executives, Air India representatives, the Civil Aviation Secretary, and DGCA officials for a discussion on air safety issues related to the tragic Boeing Dreamliner crash within seconds of take-off from the Ahmedabad airport. The meeting is likely to be held in the first week of July.

According to sources, "multiple shortcomings" in the aviation sector, with the maintenance of aircraft, are now a matter of huge concern. The committee will also address frequent helicopter accidents that have taken place recently on the Char Dham pilgrim route.

Discussion will include the role of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), aircraft maintenance schedules, and the mental fitness of pilots, sources said.

The committee's report will likely be tabled in the next session of Parliament.

Before this meeting, the committee is scheduled to hold a consultation in Gangtok to review air and road connectivity to the northeastern states, with the focus on developing tourism. The committee members are expected to travel by an Air India flight to get a first-hand assessment of the airline and its operations.

The DGCA had ordered the immediate removal of three senior Air India officials, including a divisional vice president, from all responsibilities related to flight crew scheduling and rostering as part of the first punitive action after the Boeing crash.

It has also asked the Tata Group-owned airline to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the three officials without further delay. Failure to do so would result in severe action, including the possibility of the airline losing its operating licence.

Meanwhile, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun analysing the black box data recovered from the crash site of Air India Flight AI171.

"The black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft with full security on 24 June 2025. The front black box arrived at the AAIB lab in Delhi with the Director General (DG) of AAIB at 1400 hrs on 24 June 2025," according to an official statement on Thursday.

"On the evening of 24 June 2025, the team led by the DG of AAIB, along with technical members from AAIB and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), began the data extraction process. The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on 25 June 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB lab," the statement said.

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