India's final report on the AI 171 crash remains pending, and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu says the delay is necessary to ensure the findings are "100% sure" and "scientifically arrived at," following strict international protocols.
Speaking to NDTV's Vishnu Som at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Naidu defended the time taken to release the final crash report, pushing back on criticism from Western media.
"It is a very sensitive issue what we are talking about here," Naidu said. "The first thing I want to mention is there is an Aircraft Accident Bureau purely set up by the Government of India under the Civil Aviation Ministry...a body which is independent, has to follow certain guidelines, rules that India is not setting up."
The minister underscored that the investigation process must not be rushed. "You can't hurry on these reports," he said. "Unless you are 100% sure, whatever you write in the report...you shouldn't be putting it in."
Citing the involvement of passengers from the UK and Canada, Naidu emphasized the global implications. "It can be challenged by anyone internationally also… we have to be very, very thorough. I don't want anyone contesting this report and saying that we have not done it properly."
"We want to be very, very responsible, very, very transparent and very, very thorough," he added. "There won't be any pressure on us that we must move from this kind of position. We are very, very strict in that."
On theories in the media, Naidu was blunt: "Everyone has their own theory. Everyone has their own story… But we have a process. We have rules, we have guidelines."
Shifting to pilot shortages, Naidu acknowledged a growing challenge but pushed responsibility toward airlines like IndiGo. "We have, I feel, adequate number of pilots. But the challenge here is getting them trained to be fitting in that industry," he said.
"If I'm the airline...how many pilots do I need? How do I get them inducted? It is the airline's responsibility," he stated.
IndiGo faces a deadline to meet Flight Duty Time Limitations. "If not, we have the 10% curtailment of operations,” Naidu said. "And I'm using it as another advantage where this 10% curtailment of routes...you want to promote other airlines also. We want more airlines to provide competition."
