Wings Clipped

The crash of Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London has brought India’s flagship carrier and by extension, its storied parent, the Tata Group, to its knees. The calamity, which claimed more than 250 lives and left just one survivor, is the deadliest civil aviation accident in India since the turn of the century. But its aftershocks go well beyond operational failings or aviation protocol. It poses a deeper question whether the Tata Group, under the stewardship of N. Chandrasekaran, is truly capable of executing the grand revival it promised when it reclaimed the Maharaja in 2022?

The timing could not have been worse. Just two years into a highly publicised five-year overhaul plan, the tragedy has laid bare the fragility of a conglomerate spread too thin, caught between legacy burdens and modern ambition. The loss of life is unspeakable. But the silence of key Tata lieutenants is almost as damning. Noel Tata, once seen as a quiet heir apparent, has said nothing. Others in the family orbit remain conspicuously absent. In crises, leadership is tested not only in boardrooms but at crash sites and press briefings. So far, only Chandrasekaran has stepped forward and is leading the fire-fighting.

To his credit, the chairman did visit the scene of the disaster, where he spoke with uncharacteristic emotion. But words, however heartfelt, must now give way to actions of institutional gravity. Soon after the crash, Air India was in more embarrassment after it grounded six of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with some having snags in them.

The Tata Group must resist the urge to attribute blame solely to Boeing, even if scrutiny of the American aircraft manufacturer is intensifying globally. The truth is that while Boeing may have engineered the shell, it was Tata’s team that maintained, manned, and flew it. Regulators, too, must be held to account. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has often punched below its weight, lacking both teeth and transparency.

This is a moment for the Tata Group to prove it is more than just a conglomerate of nostalgic icons and legacy brands. Over the past decade, the group has diversified aggressively - from Jaguar Land Rover to digital platforms and semiconductors. While its revenue charts look handsome, its institutional memory, less so.

The Air India tragedy may yet become the group’s most defining moment since Ratan Tata’s departure from executive life. It demands a wholesale rethink of corporate culture, especially in a business as unforgiving as aviation.

What next? Tata must display full transparency with the public. It must bring in independent aviation experts to audit its operations and install a dedicated aviation czar with the sole mandate of restoring Air India’s credibility, free from group-wide distractions.

For a company built on salt, steel and conscience, this is a test of soul. If Tata fails to rise to it, the dream of making Air India soar again may turn into a cautionary tale of ambition grounded by tragedy.