Ahmedabad tragedy: Aviation minister to hold emergency meeting on air safety today
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New Delhi: In the wake of the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu will chair a high-level meeting on air safety at the ministry’s office on Saturday.
The meeting, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., will be attended by the Civil Aviation Secretary, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), officials from the Airports Authority of India, and other departments concerned.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating a long-haul flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after take-off on 12 June, killing all 241 passengers except one. The aircraft plunged into a medical college hostel in a densely populated residential area, erupting into flames due to the large volume of fuel it was carrying.
In response, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has formed a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to investigate the causes of the disaster. The committee will examine the events leading to the crash and review existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and safety regulations within civil aviation.
The ministry said the panel is tasked with recommending a robust framework for the prevention and management of future air incidents.
Taking to social media platform X, the ministry clarified that this committee would not replace ongoing investigations by other official bodies, but would focus on drawing up improved SOPs to handle such occurrences.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and met injured survivors at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
A formal investigation is currently underway, with forensic teams analyzing the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash. A team of 70 to 80 doctors is conducting post-mortem examinations to identify the deceased.