India’s top court says a preliminary report on an Air India crash that killed 260 people in June does not insinuate anything against the captain. 

The plea by 91-year-old Pushkar Raj Sabharwal for an investigation by a panel of aviation experts came weeks after he criticised the government investigation.

He said two officials from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau who visited him had implied that his son, pilot Sumeet Sabharwal, cut the fuel to the plane’s engine after take-off.

The government has denied such accusations, calling the investigation “very clean” and “very thorough”.

The first report on the deadly Air India crash is out

In the weeks since the deadly Air India crash, questions have swirled around exactly what happened. Finally, there are some answers.

Plane’s fuel engine switches flipped

India’s air accidents investigation, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, published an interim report earlier this year saying the plane’s fuel engine switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cut-off just after take-off.

Last week, Air India’s CEO vowed to improve internal practices, in his first public comments about the accident that he said would contribute to a “challenging” year for the airline.

The Tata Group-owned carrier has been facing intense scrutiny ever since the crash, from warning notices for running planes without checking emergency equipment to not changing engine parts in time and forging records, along with other lapses related to crew fatigue management.

“We’re always looking at how we can keep improving,” CEO Campbell Wilson said.

“This year will be quite challenging from a business perspective … We’re also working with the investigators,” he added.

Reuters