India's top court said on Friday that a preliminary report on an Air India crash that killed 260 people in June does not insinuate anything against the captain, but it will hear a plea from the pilot's father on November 10 for an independent probe.
The plea by 91-year-old Pushkar Raj Sabharwal for an investigation by a panel of aviation experts, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, came weeks after he criticised the government investigation.
He said two officials from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau who visited him had implied that his son, pilot Sumeet Sabharwal, cut the fuel to the plane’s engine after take-off.
The government has denied such accusations, calling the investigation "very clean" and "very thorough".
India's air accidents investigation body published an interim report earlier this year saying the plane's fuel engine switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff.
US proposes plan to end Iran war, as Trump signals progress
US expected to send thousands more soldiers to Middle East
US safety agency says tracking system failed at LaGuardia during jet collision
Russia fires record 948 drones against Ukraine over 24 hours, Kyiv says
Death toll rises to 69 in Colombian military plane crash
One killed, five injured in Bahrain from Iran strikes
Qatar is not directly mediating between US and Iran, ministry spokesperson says
Germany, France in rare rebuke of Trump over Iran war
