New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, has said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating all possibilities in the Air India AI 171 crash, including any sabotage, and the report is expected in three months.

Speaking to NDTV at the Pune chapter of the ‘Emerging Business Conclave’, Mohol said the AAIB was conducting a full inquiry. “It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. CCTV footage is being reviewed, and several agencies are involved,” he was quoted as saying.

The minister called the crash a “rare case”, which killed more than 270 people.

“It has never happened that both engines have shut down together,” he said, referring to claims by veteran pilots and experts that a dual engine failure may have led to the crash.

The black box of flight AI 171 has been recovered and remains in the custody of the AAIB and the investigation would be conducted entirely within the country, according to Mohol.

“These devices will not be sent outside the country for a thorough assessment,” he was quoted as saying.

Last week, the Centre said the analysis of the data from Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) — recovered from the crash site of Air India Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad — is currently underway in full compliance.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, all actions so far related to Black Boxes have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time-bound manner.

Following the unfortunate accident involving Air India Flight AI-171 on June 12, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multi-disciplinary team on June 13, in line with prescribed norms.

The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by Director General AAIB and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design, (USA), as required for such investigations.

Both the CVR and FDR were recovered — one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16.

The air crash killed nearly 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew members, and has triggered a wider review of aviation safety protocols across the country.

–IANS

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