The relatives of those killed in last month’s Air India crash are demanding a full public inquiry after harrowing accounts from survivors painted a picture of chaos and panic. ‘We don’t look at the sky anymore,’ said one survivor, describing the trauma of watching the aircraft plummet from 15,000 feet. For the families, the official line of ‘pilot error’ rings hollow.
They want answers about the maintenance records, the crew training, and the weather decision-making. As Chief Financial Editor, I can’t help but see the parallels with a market gone sour. When a blue-chip stock crashes, investors don’t accept a single excuse.
They demand forensic accounting of every trade, every decision. The same should apply here. The aviation sector runs on trust.
And trust, like sovereign credit, is built on transparency. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has so far resisted a full inquiry, citing cost and air safety sovereignty. But the cost of silence is far greater.
With each passing day without answers, the liability premium on Indian airlines rises. International carriers may start to price in the risk of flying in Indian airspace. That risk premium is a tax on growth.
The survivors’ accounts are the loss-making quarterly report. The families are the shareholders voting with their feet. And the government?
It is acting like a central bank insisting inflation is transitory when bond yields are screaming otherwise. The time for a proper inquiry is now. Otherwise, the capital flight from trust will be far more expensive than any investigation.
