High-level panel to find 'root cause'

Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers, including 12 crew members, crashed in the Meghaninangar area shortly after takeoff from the Ahmedabad International Airport Thursday afternoon, killing 270 persons, including 241 passengers on board

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Centre Saturday set up a high-level multi-disciplinary panel to ascertain the “root cause” of the crash of the London-bound Air India plane in Ahmedabad and assess any contributing factors including mechanical failure, human error and regulatory compliances even as the death toll in the disaster rose to 270.

As the panel headed by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan was mandated to give its report in three months, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said aviation regulator DGCA has ordered “extended surveillance” for the Tata-owned airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner series planes. The Civil Aviation ministry said the committee will not be a substitute to other probes being conducted by relevant organisations.