16

Jun

Obvious and Offbeat: Ahmedabad Air Crash and Anarchy of Information

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Prof Pradeep Mathur

A person with white hair and glasses AI-generated content may be incorrect.

New Delhi | Monday | 16 June 2025

We are a country of armchair advisors, semi-literate consultants, ill-informed commentators and now media reporters of fake news. Social media has greatly encouraged irresponsible commentary and significantly contributed to the growing tribe of spin doctors. Any major event and these spin doctors start working overtime.

 The same has happened in case of the Ahmedabad air crash which has taken almost 300 lives. While we will know the real reason and facts only after the expert committee set up for the purpose will give its report ,  all sorts of stories are afloat in media, especially on social media platforms about the cause of the crash.    

As one knowledgeable person has rightly said the crash of Air India Flight AI171 is not merely an aviation tragedy—it is a damning indictment of systemic neglect, governance failure, and a dangerous culture of political indifference. As we know the Boeing Dreamliner, en route to London, slammed into a doctors’ hostel on the campus of BJ Medical College, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. Among the dead were students, doctors, foreign nationals, and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

In fact it was the result of years of ignored warnings, delayed paperwork, and compromised priorities. It  showed how India's political leadership  fails to protect its citizens while talking big and promising a lot.

 While the whole truth will come out  only  after the official inquiry report comes out  in three months’ time, many of the  causes are obvious. One is that the Airport in Ahmedabad has  been considered by experts as dangerously located because of shorter space ahead of the runway and close residential complexes. When Flight AI171 failed to gain altitude, it fell into a crowded urban area and the impact put the plane on fire from which none could escape. The intense fire also killed many people on the ground.

 

Article at a Glance
The article critiques the rise of irresponsible commentary and misinformation in the wake of the Ahmedabad air crash, which claimed nearly 300 lives. It highlights the tragic incident involving Air India Flight AI171, emphasizing that it reflects systemic neglect and governance failures in India. The crash, attributed to the airport's dangerous location and years of ignored safety warnings, underscores the political indifference towards citizen safety. Despite the promise of an official inquiry, the article argues that many causes are evident, including the lack of timely action on safety expansions requested by the Airports Authority of India. It calls for transparency, accountability, and urgent reforms, stressing that media should focus on serious developmental issues rather than sensationalism. The piece concludes that had the media highlighted these safety concerns earlier, the tragedy might have been averted.

 

Way back in the year  2018, the Airports Authority of India requested  more land to expand the safety area. The Gujarat government approved the request—but failed to act. Other such  reports were shelved and  plans for decongestion could not take off. Meanwhile, the number of passenger grew and there was more pressure on the airport. All this resulted in the tragedy that could have been avoided with timely action. However, there is hardly any  mention of this in social media reports.

Condolences have poured in from various quarters right from the PMO  and people have expressed solidarity with grieving families. But prayers are not enough. What is needed is transparency, accountability and action , especially because it is Prime Minister’s home state and Home Minister’s constituency and it must set an example for the entire country. The action to reform and improve things must be urgent and meaningful.

There is the need for our media to shun the sensational and superficial and look to serious issues of development. Had the media written about the problems of the airport  and brought the issue of inaction on the part of the authorities in public domain, the tragedy could have been avoided.

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