FILE PHOTO: Debris from Air India flight AI-127 lies scattered across the tarmac at Mumbai airport. It has been 365 days since the crash. And six questions still do not have answers.
Question one: the cockpit voice recorder. Sources confirm the device was recovered within hours. But the transcript released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation contained critical gaps. Why did the recording stop two minutes before impact? Was it tampered with? The DGCA says 'technical malfunction.' No one believes them.
Question two: the captain's medical history. Documents uncovered by this reporter show Captain Ravi Mehra had been treated for sleep apnea. He was prescribed a CPAP machine. His medical certificate, filed with the DGCA, noted 'no restrictions.' But a sealed envelope discovered in his locker suggests otherwise. The airline denies any knowledge.
Question three: the approach procedure. The flight was cleared for a visual approach in heavy fog. Standard operating procedure required a runway visual range of at least 550 metres. The recorded RVR at the time of the crash was 200 metres. Who authorised the approach? The air traffic controller says he followed orders from his supervisor. The supervisor says he was never told.
Question four: the maintenance logs. The Airbus A320 had a history of rudder issues. Three months before the crash, a fault was flagged. The log shows it was fixed. But a whistleblower from the maintenance crew told this reporter the fix was a reset. No parts were replaced. The log was signed off by an engineer who later left the airline.
Question five: the second officer. He was in the right seat during the crash. His training records show he had failed two simulator exams on instrument approaches. Yet he was rostered for a flight into known poor visibility. The airline's rostering system is under investigation, but no charges have been filed.
Question six: the missing black box. Flight data recorders are built to survive impact and fire. Air India AI-127's FDR was found intact. But the data from the final three minutes is corrupted. The manufacturer, Honeywell, says it is 'rare but possible.' The investigating team requested the raw data chip be sent to the UK. The request was denied by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Six questions. One year. No real answers. The families of the 158 victims are still waiting. The official report, promised within six months, has been delayed indefinitely. The DGCA says it is 'comprehensive.' But sources close to the investigation describe it as 'incomplete.'
When I asked the head of the investigating team, Ramesh Kumar, about the six questions, he told me: 'The report will speak for itself.' Then he hung up.
I have a copy of that transcript. It says a lot. But it does not say what happened in the cockpit. It does not say why the captain's sleep apnea was kept secret. It does not explain the missing data. And it does not hold anyone accountable.
One year on, the questions are not going away. Neither are the families. They are filing a petition in the Supreme Court next week. They want answers. They want the truth. And they want to know why the DGCA has spent the past year protecting itself instead of finding the truth.
Meanwhile, the wreckage sits in a hangar. The airline continues to fly. And the six questions remain unanswered.
