The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has formally requested a hearing and technical interaction with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) before the agency finalises its report into the Air India AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad. The development follows a Supreme Court order dated 28 July that recorded the government's assurance that inputs from the pilots' body would be duly considered in the investigation.

What FIP Has Requested

FIP President Capt. CS Randhawa wrote to the AAIB seeking a personal hearing or technical meeting with the investigator-in-charge and relevant subject matter experts before the final report is completed. The body has asked for three specific concessions: formal acknowledgement as an aviation stakeholder, placement of its technical submissions on the investigation record, and examination of its observations by the competent investigation team.

FIP has sought an opportunity to provide technical inputs across several critical areas — simulator testing and reconstruction, sequence-of-events analysis, crew performance and human factors, aircraft and system behaviour, and operational and regulatory oversight.

Key Technical Areas Under Scrutiny

Among the specific issues FIP wants to discuss are simulator configuration and fidelity, the assumptions and methodology used in testing, flight-data correlation, crew actions and cockpit workload, aircraft systems and warning mechanisms, and training and procedural requirements. The body has also asked the AAIB to identify the technical specialist who examined each substantive issue it raised.

Notably, FIP clarified it was not seeking confidential personal information or material that could compromise the independence of the investigation. 'FIP's objective is not to interfere with, influence or prejudge the independent investigation, but to ensure that relevant operational and technical perspectives are available to the investigation authority before its conclusions are finalised,' the organisation said in its letter.

Timeline and Urgency

FIP has requested the proposed technical meeting be held on or before 15 September, citing the anticipated completion of the investigation by the first week of October. The tight window underscores the urgency of the pilots' body's intervention at this late stage of the probe.

Background: The AI-171 Crash

Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on 12 June of the previous year, killing 260 people. The disaster ranks among the deadliest aviation accidents in India's history and has prompted intense scrutiny of safety protocols, crew training, and aircraft systems. The AAIB-led investigation has been closely watched by aviation regulators, airlines, and pilot associations alike.

With the final report approaching completion, FIP's intervention signals that the pilots' community wants its operational perspective formally embedded in the investigation record — not as a postscript, but as a substantive input before conclusions are drawn.