Centre criticizes Western media for 'biased' coverage of Air India crash, praises investigation efforts

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Sunday that the government will wait for the final report on the Air India crash in Ahmedabad before drawing any conclusions. He urged Western media to avoid speculation and praised the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) for successfully decoding the black box data within India.

“AAIB has appealed to everyone, especially Western media houses, to avoid publishing articles that may have vested interests. I have full faith in the AAIB and the work they are doing. They’ve done an excellent job decoding the black box and retrieving the data right here in India,” Kinjarapu said.

He called this a significant achievement, noting that previously damaged black boxes had to be sent abroad for data extraction.

“This is a huge success because earlier, damaged black boxes were always sent overseas for data retrieval. This is the first time AAIB has fully decoded the data domestically. The preliminary report is also already available,” he added.

However, the minister cautioned against jumping to conclusions before the investigation is complete.

“Making comments before the final report is released isn’t appropriate. We are carefully studying the report and will take whatever safety measures are necessary,” Kinjarapu said.

He emphasized the importance of patience and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to aviation safety.