No one in India believes the Ahmedabad plane crash was due to pilot error : Supreme Court

Pilot Sumit Sabharwal who died in an accident

New Delhi – The pilot cannot be held responsible for the plane crash that occurred in Kannur on 12 June 2025, the Supreme Court observed, adding that no one in the country believes the pilot was at fault. The Court also noted that the preliminary inquiry report contained no allegations against the pilot.

This observation came while hearing a petition filed by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, 91-year-old father of Captain Sumit Sabharwal, one of the pilots who lost his life in the crash. He has sought an independent probe into the incident, in response to which the Court has issued notices to the Union Government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The next hearing has been scheduled for 10 November.

The tragedy claimed 241 lives, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members, aboard Air India flight AI-171 travelling from Ahmedabad to London. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also among the deceased.

SC says the pilot cannot be blamed for the June 12, 2025 Air India AI-171 crash that killed 241, including ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.

“No one in the country believes it was pilot error,” the court noted.

SC also slammed The Wall Street Journal for “poor reporting,” after it… pic.twitter.com/j7FBdvs0dh

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) November 7, 2025

Court slams American daily for poor reporting

Pushkar Sabharwal informed the Supreme Court that a report in the Wall Street Journal (US) had claimed that the accident was caused by pilot error, citing an anonymous source in the Indian Government. However, the Bench remarked that the report was poorly researched and misleading. (The crashed aircraft belonged to an American company. It is therefore obvious that the American newspaper attempted to shift blame onto the Indian pilot to protect that company. – Editor)