The father of the pilot involved in last week’s Air India crash near Mumbai has publicly vowed to defend his son’s reputation, as a bitter dispute over responsibility for the disaster escalates. Speaking from the family home in New Delhi, retired army colonel Ravi Sharma said his son, Captain Arjun Sharma, had been made a “scapegoat” by airline officials and investigators seeking to deflect blame.
The crash, which occurred during a storm on 12 August, killed 158 of the 166 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 787. Preliminary reports have focused on the cockpit voice recorder, which appears to show Captain Sharma ignoring repeated warnings about wind shear and ground proximity. However, Colonel Sharma insisted that his son was a “consummate professional” with over 10,000 hours of flying experience, and that the aircraft’s maintenance history had been “questionable”.
“My son is not here to defend himself, so I will do it for him,” Colonel Sharma said. “He was following standard procedure, and the aircraft should never have been cleared for take-off in those conditions.” The comment appears to target the airline’s dispatch team and ground control, which have not yet issued public statements.
Air India has remained largely silent, issuing a brief statement expressing condolences and promising a full investigation. But behind the scenes, sources say, the airline’s legal team is preparing to argue that pilot error was the primary cause, a stance that has angered the Sharma family. “They are trying to save their own skin,” Colonel Sharma said. “But the truth will come out.”
The dispute reflects a broader tension in India’s aviation sector, where safety standards have come under increasing scrutiny. The country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has come under fire for alleged lax oversight, while airlines face pressure to maintain profitability. Captain Sharma, a former air force pilot, had previously filed a complaint about the aircraft’s navigation systems, which he claimed were unreliable. The complaint was reportedly dismissed by Air India’s management.
International investigators, led by the US National Transportation Safety Board, are assisting in the probe. They have declined to comment on the blame dispute. However, a senior investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cockpit recorder indicated “deficiencies in crew resource management”. That assessment aligns with Air India’s internal narrative, but Colonel Sharma dismissed it as “fabricated” to support a predetermined conclusion.
The crash has reignited calls for reform in India’s aviation governance. Analysts argue that the blame game could undermine public trust in the investigation, raising questions about the sector’s ability to learn from tragedies. “The priority must be factual accuracy, not institutional reputation,” said Dr. Priya Nair, an aviation safety expert at the University of Mumbai. “If the investigation becomes a proxy battle between the family and the airline, it does a disservice to the victims.”
Colonel Sharma has retained a prominent Delhi-based law firm to represent his son’s interests in the investigation. He has also launched a social media campaign, #JusticeForArjun, which has garnered significant public support. “I will not let his name be destroyed,” he said. “He died trying to save those passengers.”
