Independent Panel under Civil Aviation Ministry to investigate Air Accidents & Serious Incidents

The Indian government on 25 May 2011 issued an order to set up an independent panel under the civil aviation ministry that will take help from independent experts to investigate accidents and serious incidents. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), after the panel is formed cease to be the three-in-one investigator-prosecutor-judge combine when it comes to investigating serious air mishaps. The panel will conduct the probe independent of the DGCA. The demand for an independent investigator was strengthened after the 2010 Mangalore crash and the recent spate of incidents in Pawan Hans.

The accident investigation committee will have five officers apart from independent resource personnel whose help they can take. The panel will classify a mishap as accident or serious incident given that this rating has serious impact on the airlines insurance premium and has been suspected of being manipulated in the past.

Under the new system, reports of any mishap will be sent to the DGCA along with a copy to the panel. The panel will also follow up implementation of the safety recommendations made with every probe report. Also it will advise the DGCA from time to time on accident prevention steps.
The government studied various models for deciding the shape of the independent probe panel. Usually probe panels are kept away from the department whose accidents they would probe to have a fair and independent report with low chances of manipulation.

So as long as the DGCA conducted probes, the question if it would examine any possible lapses always remained in people's minds. The government thus set up independent probe panels to examine big crashes like last year's Mangalore crash.