Whitehall sources say a bitter row is brewing over access to the cockpit voice recorder of the crashed Air India flight. The pilot's father, a retired air force officer, has vowed to defend his son's reputation. He claims the investigation is being mishandled. The British team is demanding raw data. The family wants it kept private.
This is a classic Whitehall turf war. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is used to getting its way. But this time they face a formidable opponent: a grieving father with political clout in Delhi. He has hired a top London law firm. They are threatening judicial review.
The core issue is 'chain of custody'. The recorder was removed by Indian officials. The AAIB wants to verify its integrity. The family says that is a pretext to blame the pilot. They point to the pilot's exemplary record. 10,000 hours of flying time. No incidents.
But the polling data is brutal for the Indian government. Public opinion is turning against the airline. The crash was the worst in a decade. 186 dead. The opposition is demanding a full public inquiry. The PM's office is nervous.
I have spoken to a former AAIB investigator. He says the data is crucial. 'Without it we cannot rule out mechanical failure or pilot error. The cockpit voice recorder is the black box of the soul of the accident.'
The pilot's father is not backing down. He tells me his son called him just before takeoff. 'He was calm. He said the plane was perfect.' The father believes the crash was caused by a design flaw. He is briefing MPs in the Indian parliament.
Meanwhile, the British High Commission is staying schtum. But I hear they are pulling strings. The Foreign Office is involved. This is becoming a diplomatic incident. The Indian civil aviation minister is due in London next week. The agenda will be dominated by this crash.
There is a whispering campaign against the pilot. Anonymous briefings to Indian media suggest he was fatigued. His father calls it character assassination. He has a dossier of evidence. He is ready to fight.
Backbench MPs here are watching closely. They smell blood. They have tabled questions about the AAIB's powers. Some want the UK to unilaterally access the data via satellite. That would be unprecedented.
For now, the recorder sits in a Delhi lab. The AAIB team waits in a hotel. The father holds press conferences. This is a game of chicken. The pilot's honour versus the need for answers.
In Whitehall, they say the truth will out. But the path to truth is littered with political landmines. The only certainty is that the pilot's father will not give up. He told me: 'My son died a hero. I will prove it.'
