The Centre’s high-level committee formed to determine the reasons behind the devastating crash of Air India’s Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight, is expected to submit its report within three months, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said.

Speaking in New Delhi on Saturday, Minister Naidu said the Centre has constituted the high-level committee headed by the Union Home Secretary to examine the Ahmedabad crash in detail. 

The high-level committee is slated to meet on Monday. It comprises experts from multiple disciplines.

“We will work with all stakeholders to put in place robust safety mechanisms to prevent a repeat of such an incident. For this purpose, we have formed a high-level committee to look into aviation safety issues,” he said.

“India has one of the most stringent safety regulations... We are working on strengthening them further.”

Besides, the high-level committee includes the Union Civil Aviation Secretary and representatives from the Gujarat government’s Home Department, the State Disaster Response Authority, the Indian Air Force’s Director-General for Inspection and Safety, along with the Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Director-General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, among others.

Furthermore, the committee can include aviation experts, accident investigators and legal advisors as it deems fit, Naidu said.

“The high-level committee will examine the causes that led to this crash... It will examine everything, including the root cause of the crash. It will also assess contributing factors and make recommendations to prevent such incidents in future,” he said.

According to Naidu, technical investigations into the air tragedy will be undertaken by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), while the committee will work to strengthen aviation safety.

Black box recovered

“The ‘black box’ has been recovered, and investigations are going on. At this time we think it would be best to have the 787s checked once,” Minister Naidu said.

“The DGCA has asked Air India to conduct the thorough checks, and as of today, 8 of 34 such aircraft in the country have been inspected.”

On Friday, the country’s civil aviation regulator ordered enhanced inspections of the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft models.

Notably, businessline first reported on Thursday that the regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) was exploring the possibility of having all the Boeing 787s in service checked.

The regulator has directed Air India to conduct enhanced safety inspections on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, equipped with ‘GenX’ engines.

Besides, the DGCA has mandated additional maintenance actions to ensure the airworthiness and safety of the fleet.

As per the DGCA order, starting June 15, 2025, Air India will need to conduct one-time checks before the aircraft’s departure from India.

These checks will include inspections of ‘fuel parameter monitoring,’ ‘cabin air compressor,’ ‘electronic engine control,’ ‘engine fuel-driven actuator,’ and ‘hydraulic system,’ as well as a review of take-off parameters.

Additionally, Air India will implement ‘flight control inspections’ during transit until further notice, and carry out power assurance checks within two weeks.

In addition, the airline is required to review and address recurring snags in its B787-8 and -9 aircraft reported in the last 15 days.

“The report of the checks is to be submitted to DGCA for review,” the DGCA order said..

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Published on June 14, 2025