Probe on Air India crash that kills 260 enters final stage: India's aviation minister

NEW DELHI -- India's federal civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Friday the probe into the Air India airplane crash that killed 260 people last year has reached the final stage, and the final report will be released within one month.

"As per the information we have received, the investigation is in its final stages. However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is conducting the probe independently, and we have provided them with all the resources they require. We expect the process may take around another month," Kinjarapu said.

The minister made the remarks on the sidelines of an event in the western state of Gujarat.

According to Kinjarapu, the probe was being conducted with "seriousness, fairness and transparency."

The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 last year shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.

The Indian government's AAIB is investigating the crash. AAIB, in its preliminary report on the crash, found that the fuel to the engines of the plane was cut off following the confusion over the engine switch movement in the cockpit between the pilots.