Tata boss Chandrasekaran apologises for AI 171 crash

Mumbai: Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Wednesday “apologised” for the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last week that claimed more than 270 lives.

In an interview with a TV news channel, Chandrasekaran said, “It is an extremely difficult situation where I have no words to express to console any of the families of those who died.”

“I deeply regret that this accident happened in a Tata-run airline. And I feel very sorry. All we can do is to be with the families at this time, grieve with them and we will do everything to support them at this hour and beyond,” Chandrasekran was quoted as saying in a release.

Over 270 people were killed on June 12 when a London-bound Air India plane — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad and crashed less than a minute after



takeoff.

When specifically asked about the reason for the crash and whether Air India is privy to any preliminary findings, Chandrasekaran said, “One would have to wait for the probe to conclude.”

“There are more than 1100 flights that we fly every day. And in the last six days, there have been in general, anywhere from 5 to 16 or 18 flights, depending on the day, that have been cancelled.” “We’ve got to do a better job at communication. We have put a strategic communications team in the last three days,” Chandrasekaran said.

Chandrasekharan has met with senior officials of Boeing following the tragedy. He said: “So I did connect with both Boeing and GE at the highest levels. Parallel to the DGCA checks that we have gone through, I have asked them to check and tell us if there have been issues with any of the aircraft or engines,” the release said.