Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President Captain CS Randhawa on Saturday launched a scathing attack on The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, accusing them of publishing misleading and unfounded reports on the Air India AI-171 crash that claimed over 250 lives last month.
Following the publication of international reports allegedly attributing blame to the pilots based on the preliminary findings of India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the FIP issued formal legal notices to both news agencies, demanding an apology and public clarification.
“I totally blame The Wall Street Journal for misleading the public. They have drawn their own conclusions without basis. Are they the investigating body? Their reports are not based on any factual content from the preliminary report,” Captain Randhawa told ANI.
He asserted that the publications had irresponsibly spread “crap around the world,” accusing them of creating unwarranted panic and defaming the deceased pilots without official confirmation.
“We’ve strongly condemned this. The legal notice clearly states: how can you jump to such conclusions not present in the AAIB’s preliminary report? How can you blame the pilots? We’ve asked for an explanation and a public statement. If they fail to comply, we’ll consider further action,” Randhawa warned.
He also welcomed the strong statement issued by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is assisting the AAIB in the investigation. The NTSB had criticised recent media coverage as “premature and speculative,” urging restraint until the official final report is released.
“We are heartened by the NTSB’s position. Their statement supports what we’ve been saying—Western media must stop speculating and blaming Indian pilots,” Randhawa added.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said, “India’s AAIB just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time. All questions should be directed to the AAIB. We fully support their ongoing investigation.”
The FIP and AAIB have both emphasised that the purpose of the preliminary report is to establish what happened, not why, and warned against attributing blame before the completion of the full investigation.