Will Look Into All Theories Behind Crash

The government will look into all possible theories of what could have caused the Air India plane crash this week, aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Saturday during the government's first briefing into the tragedy on Thursday—the deadliest of its kind in three decades.

- Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI:

Naidu said the Centre has also set up a high-level multi-disciplinary panel to ascertain the "root cause" of the crash of the London-bound Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad and assess any contributing factors including mechanical failure, human error and regulatory compliances, in addition to the probe conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB).

The panel, headed by Union home secretary Govind Mohan, was mandated to give its report in three months, Naidu said.

Separately, officials said India is also exploring plans to create a new "aviation safety board" on the lines of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an American agency that has a wide remit to probe accidents, including the aviation sector.