{"id":54793,"date":"2025-07-14T11:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T05:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=54793"},"modified":"2025-07-14T11:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T06:23:19","slug":"aircraft-accident-investigation-bureau-aaib","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/aircraft-accident-investigation-bureau-aaib\/","title":{"rendered":"Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB): India\u2019s Air Crash Probe Authority Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A month after the Air India AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad, where 241 of 242 onboard died, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report revealed both engine fuel control switches moved from &#8216;RUN&#8217; to &#8216;CUTOFF&#8217; within seconds of takeoff, raising serious concerns.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One pilot reportedly questioned the other about cutting off fuel, but the latter denied doing so.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since these switches don\u2019t usually move accidentally, the incident has prompted deeper scrutiny, especially of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), as part of the AAIB\u2019s ongoing investigation process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Investigating Aircraft Crashes<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the 1944 Chicago Convention, overseen by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), aircraft crash investigations are primarily conducted by the <\/span><b>\u2018State of Occurrence\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014the country where the accident takes place.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ICAO is\u00a0a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">specialized agency of the United Nations<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that promotes the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Established in 1944, it sets standards and recommends practices for aviation safety, security, efficiency, and environmental protection.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, the <\/span><b>State of Registry<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>State of the Operator<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>State of Design<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>State of Manufacture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have formal rights to participate in the investigation process.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Registry &#8211; where the aircraft is registered,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of the Operator &#8211; which operated the flight,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Design &#8211; The country that regulates and oversees the organization responsible for designing and ensuring the airworthiness of an aircraft.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Manufacture &#8211; the country or jurisdiction that has authority over the organization responsible for the final assembly of an aircraft.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These protocols are detailed in <\/span><b>Annex 13 of the Convention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>AAIB: India\u2019s Independent Air Crash Investigation Body<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under India\u2019s Ministry of Civil Aviation, investigates civil aviation accidents and serious incidents.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was established in 2012 to ensure investigation independence from regulatory bodies like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), following global standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Legal Framework of the AAIB<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under Section 7 of the Aircraft Act, 1934, the Government of India is empowered to make rules for investigating aircraft accidents in India or involving Indian-registered aircraft.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, the Air Safety Directorate of DGCA handled these investigations under the Aircraft Rules, 1937, aligned with Article 26 of the Chicago Convention.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Governing Rules<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2012 were formulated to formalize AAIB\u2019s role.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These rules were later amended in 2017 and 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AAIB is now designated as an \u201cAttached Office\u201d of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Functions and Role of the AAIB<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AAIB classifies safety occurrences as Accidents, Serious Incidents, and Incidents.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is empowered with <\/span><b>immediate and unrestricted access<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to all relevant evidence from any agency or organisation, without requiring prior approval from judicial or government authorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It investigates all Accidents and Serious Incidents involving aircraft over 2,250 kg All Up Weight (the total weight of an aircraft with passengers and cargo) and Turbojet aircraft.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investigations focus solely on preventing future accidents, not on assigning blame or liability (as per Rule 3 of Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Investigation Process<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Immediate site investigation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: AAIB sends investigators to collect and preserve perishable evidence, black boxes, wreckage samples, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Evidence collection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Includes data from operators, regulators, involved personnel, and unrestricted access to all relevant materials.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Expert analysis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: AAIB may engage domain experts and collaborate with agencies like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and DGCA laboratories.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Report preparation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: After internal review, a final report is published and shared with the ICAO and involved states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Additional Functions<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conducting safety studies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Issuing safety recommendations to DGCA India or other international aviation regulatory bodies for implementation and monitoring.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/everyday-explainers\/aircraft-accident-investigation-bureau-aaib-report-ahmedabad-flight-crash-10123840\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0| <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.civilaviation.gov.in\/node\/4095\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MoCA<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn the role, powers, and investigation process of India\u2019s AAIB in probing air crashes like AI 171 to enhance aviation safety and prevent future incidents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":54803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[839,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-54793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-aircraft-accident-investigation-bureau","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}