‘I Lost My Father Too in Road Accident’: Aviation Minister Stands With Families of Air India Crash Victims

‘I Lost My Father Too in Road Accident’: Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu spoke at his first press conference since the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, addressing the families of victims, and recalling he too lost his father in a road accident.

Air India's Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner flight, crashed into BJ Medical College's doctors' hostel in Meghani Nagar area in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on June 12.

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241 people on board the flight perished, and there is only one survivor. The crash also eliminated 29 lives on the ground when the commercial jet struck buildings and a vehicle.

Naidu asked for a minute's silence at the start of the press conference, and said hard it has been for everyone during the last two days.

'Lost father in road accident'

"I personally lost my father in a road accident, so I can understand the pain of the families who lost their loved ones," Naidu said.

Naidu lost his father, former union minister Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, on November 2, 2012, in a road accident near Dandanapeta of Ranasthalam mandal in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district.

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Yerran Naidu's vehicle collided with a tanker in the accident. The leader, a member of Telugu Desam's Politburo at the time, was rushed to a hospital, and sources told The Hindu that doctors tried to save him, including "even arranging a ventilator." Since his body did not respond the treatment, doctors declared him dead at 3:30 am.

The devastating Air India crash has left the country convulsed in shock. The central government announced it has assembled a high-level committee to investigate the cause of the crash. The panel has been tasked with issuing a report in 3 months.

Sourced by the home secretary, the committee consists of members from the state and central governments (not below the rank of joint secretary).

According to an order issued by the civil aviation minister, the probe panel will “will identify contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, regulatory compliances and other reasons” to “determine the root cause of the crash.”

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