India, July 15 -- The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to complete its probe into last year's Air India Flight AI-171 crash within six weeks, with "a draft final report" ready by October, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The draft cannot be released immediately, the Centre said in an affidavit filed ahead of a hearing on Friday in a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the crash that killed 260 people, including 241 on board.

The government cited International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) framework and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025 that mandates a draft air crash investigation report to be circulated to states participating in the p...