Air India plane crash: Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu slams Western media, says, 'Making any comments...'

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Sunday slammed the Western media for their coverage of the tragic Air India plane crash of June 12. He said the Indian government will wait for the final probe report before arriving at any conclusions, and lauded the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) for their efforts. "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," Naidu, a leader of the Telugu Desam Party, said in a statement.

'I believe in AAIB'
Naidu, 37, hailed the AAIB for successfully decoding the Black Box data without foreign involvement. "I believe in AAIB. I believe in the work that they are doing. They have done a wonderful job in decoding the whole Black Box and getting the data out in India itself," the minister said. He called it a major success, underscoring that previously, Black Boxes had to be sent abroad for analysis. "This is the first time that successfully AAIB has decoded everything. The data has been here. The preliminary report has also been seen."

Air India crash probe
Naidu added it was inappropriate to draw conclusions before final probe findings were revealed. "Making any comments until the final report has come, I don't think it is a good exercise on behalf of anyone. We are also very cautious and studying the report thoroughly, and whatever necessary needs to be done in terms of safety, we are ready to do it." The AAIB is investigating the circumstances that led an Air India-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad international airport. The incident killed 241 people on board and dozens others on the ground, marking one of India's deadliest aviation disasters ever.