Tata execs volunteer help for AI victims' kin; Chandra vows transparency
At N. Chandrasekaran's 30-minute meeting, senior Tata executives offered to help small businesses that lost key personnel in the tragedy, and the affected families with children’s education and financial assistance
The Tata Group pledged to further assist the families and small businesses of AI-171 victims and get to the cause of the accident, as investigations began into Thursday's crash that killed more than 250 people.
N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd and Air India Ltd, on Friday updated about 70 senior Tata executives, including CEOs and former directors in a video conference, an executive who attended the meeting said.
A day earlier, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner had crashed into a medical college hostel building outside Ahmedabad airport moments after take-off. The flight was bound for the London Gatwick Airport.
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At Friday's 30-minute meeting, senior Tata executives offered to help small businesses that lost key personnel in the tragedy, and the affected families with children’s education and financial assistance by giving a day's salary. This is in addition to the ₹1 crore compensation that Air India will give each family that lost their kin in the accident.
“Our message was that we all will chip in. This is not only an Air India tragedy," the executive cited above said on the condition of anonymity.
A Tata Sons spokesperson did not offer a comment.
Separately, Chandrasekaran also wrote to the group's 800,000-plus employees, vowing complete transparency into what caused Thursday’s crash. “I want to say that, like you, we want to understand what happened. We don't know right now, but we will," Chandrasekaran wrote.
“The Tata Group takes its responsibility to society seriously, and that includes being open about what occurred yesterday," he wrote.
However, he cautioned against speculation, urging everyone to be patient till facts are ascertained about what led to the crash. “Why this routine flight turned into a calamity is something trained investigators will help us understand when their work is complete. Once we have verified facts, we will be transparent in our communication about how this tragedy took place," he wrote.
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On Friday, authorities located the cockpit voice recorder and one of the two black boxes of AI 171. The black box contains a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder, analyzing which will help investigators piece together what led to the accident. The investigation will be led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which operates under the ministry of civil aviation.
Investigators, including those from the US and UK, arrived in Ahmedabad on Friday. Senior Air India executives including CEO Cambell Wilson visited the crash site.
Chandrasekaran signed off his letter off with a promise to not retreat from the group’s responsibilities and doing what was right. “We will carry this loss. We will not forget," he wrote.
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