NEW DELHI: Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Sunday expressed his confidence in Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)’s probe into AI 171 crash, urging people to avoid “jumping to conclusions” till the final report was out. He also questioned the coverage of the crash probe by the Western media houses pointing out that they may have a “vested interest” behind their articles.“I believe in AAIB… They have done a wonderful job in decoding the black box in India itself… Making any comments until the final report comes out is not a good exercise… There is no point in jumping to conclusions at this point,” ANI quoted the minister saying.“AAIB has made an appeal to all, especially Western media houses, which may have a vested interest in the kind of articles they are trying to publish,” he said.The comments come after AAIB raised concerns over “selective and unverified reporting” by certain international outlets on the Ahmedabad plane crash that squarely pointed the blame on the captain of the aircraft based on information from US authorities.“It is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew of the aircraft and other deceased persons on the ground. It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process,” AAIB said in a statement, earlier this week.The bureau released its statement following a report by The Wall Street Journal, which claimed, citing sources familiar with the early assessment by US officials, that the captain may have “accidentally or deliberately” turned off switches controlling fuel supply to the aircraft’s two engines.
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