The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has served a legal notice on the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), accusing it of acting without jurisdiction and causing harassment by summoning a commercial pilot who, it says, had no connection with the fatal Air India crash that occurred in Ahmedabad last year.In a sharply worded notice addressed to the Director General and a senior official of the AAIB, the pilots’ body objected to the summoning of Capt Varun Anand in connection with the investigation into the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash involving aircraft VT-ANB at Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. Capt Anand is the nephew of the deceased Pilot-in-Command, late Capt Sumeet Sabharwal.As per the notice, Capt Anand was informed by his employer, Air India, that he had been called by the AAIB, but without any clarity on the legal basis or purpose of the summons.“The said intimation does not disclose the statutory provision, purpose or relevance under which Capt Anand had been sought to be summoned, nor does it specify the capacity in which his presence is required,” the FIP said in the notice.The federation also asserted that Capt Anand had no role, involvement or knowledge related to the accident. “Capt Varun Anand is a commercial pilot and had no association with the aircraft, the flight in question, its planning, dispatch, operation, maintenance, certification, airworthiness clearance or crew composition,” the notice said.It added that he was neither present at the accident site nor possessed “any factual, technical or operational knowledge relating to the circumstances of the said accident”.The FIP said the summoning of relatives of the deceased crew pointed to a troubling investigative approach. “The summoning of the nephew of the deceased pilot and his relatives, irrespective of their lack of nexus with the incident, reinforces the apprehension that such actions were not rooted in any lawful investigative necessity,” the notice said.Citing the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules and ICAO Annex 13, the federation alleged that the AAIB had overstepped its mandate. “The summoning of Capt Anand, as also of other family members, is wholly without jurisdiction and contrary to the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules as well as ICAO Annex 13, which strictly confine accident investigations to technical, safety-oriented fact-finding and expressly prohibit attribution of blame or liability,” the notice stated.The FIP categorically rejected the premise of calling Capt Anand as a witness of any kind. “Capt Anand is neither a factual witness nor a technical witness nor an expert witness in relation to the said accident,” the FIP said.The notice also flagged what it described as a dangerous shift in the direction of the probe. “Such conduct gives rise to a serious apprehension that the investigation was proceeding on a preconceived narrative seeking to portray or attribute responsibility to the deceased flight crew rather than objectively examining systemic, mechanical or operational causes,” it said.The pilots’ body also pointed out that the investigation itself was already before the Supreme Court. “The father of late Capt Sumeet Sabharwal and our client have already approached the Supreme Court by filing a writ petition challenging, inter alia, the independence and fairness of the investigation being conducted by the AAIB,” the notice said.Calling the summons unwarranted and distressing, the FIP said, “The summoning of Capt Anand without adequate notice, especially when he is not witness to the occurrence, is wholly unwarranted and amounts to harassment and distress in the aftermath of a tragic loss. It exposes our client to professional and reputational prejudice.”