Stitching together evidence in Air India plane crash to be tedious process; probe may take time: Former AAIB DG

Q. How much time do you envisage that the investigation into the Air India plane crash Ahmedabad would take?
Annexe 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as AAIB Rules mandate that any investigation should preferably be completed in less than a year.
Our investigators' endeavour to complete an investigation as quickly as possible so that remedial actions are instituted quickly through DGCA to avoid any recurrence.
However, going by the visuals of this accident, you would appreciate that this aircraft has been very badly damaged by fire.
Therefore, corroborating and stitching together the evidences would be a tedious process.
In all probability and in fairness, the investigation is likely to be a long-drawn process.
Q. How are the probable causes zeroed in during an aircraft accident investigation?
Deep and detailed examination of meaningful evidences is a time-consuming process.
After analysing the data from the recorders, the investigators narrow down to the most probable systems and/or sub-systems that could have malfunctioned and/or contributed in a malfunction.
Step by step, each of the suspected causes for the accident are examined deeply and the unlikely causes are ruled out which is a rigorous process.
Basically, the process is driven by the 'method of elimination'.
It is akin to a physician going through pathological reports, X-Ray/MRI or other test reports before coming to a conclusion.
Q.What is the main aim of an aircraft crash investigation?
As per Annex 13 of ICAO and AAIB Rules 2012 (as amended from time to time), the aim of the investigation is to find out the most probable root cause but not to apportion blame or liability.

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