'No manipulation' in Air India crash probe, minister says, after complaint from pilot's father

By Abhijith Ganapavaram NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) – India's civil aviation minister denied on Tuesday there was any "manipulation" in an official investigation into the crash of an Air India Dreamliner in June, after the father of the flight's captain complained about the actions of investigators. It was the first official reaction to a complaint by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal sent to a pilots' union last month in which he said investigators had visited his home and implied that his son had cut the fuel to the plane's engines after takeoff. Sabharwal, 91, emailed the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) to complain of "selective" releases of information from the investigators that had led to speculation about the actions of his late son, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. "There is no manipulation or there is no dirty business happening in the investigation," Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told broadcaster India Today. "It is a very clean and very thorough process that we are following according to the rules that have been set up, so we are going to ensure that commitment is maintained," he said in an interview, when asked if he had any assurances for Sabharwal. Air India flight 171 crashed moments after it took off from Ahmedabad in June, killing 260 people. A preliminary investigation report by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) showed the plane's fuel engine switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. A source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence in July told Reuters the cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that Captain Sabharwal had cut the flow of fuel to the engines. Pushkar Raj Sabharwal and the FIP did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Sabharwal wrote a separate letter to the ministry in August, in which he requested India's government open an additional investigation into the deadly crash. Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court asked the government to respond to a plea seeking an independent investigation into the crash. Reuters reported on Tuesday that India has sought more information from Boeing after an emergency power system unexpectedly activated on a separate Air India 787 Dreamliner on Saturday. (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram Editing by Gareth Jones)

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