In a statement issued by the Centre for Countering Disinformation, Turkish authorities said, The claim that ‘the maintenance of the Boeing 787-8 passenger aircraft was carried out by Turkish Technic’ following the crash of an Air India passenger aircraft during take-off is false. The claim that the crashed aircraft was maintained by Turkish Technic constitutes disinformation aimed at manipulating public opinion regarding Türkiye-India relations.’
‘Under the agreements made between Air India and Turkish Technic in 2024 and 2025, maintenance services are provided exclusively for B777-type wide-body aircraft. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the accident does not fall within the scope of this agreement. To date, Turkish Technic has not conducted maintenance on any Air India aircraft of this type,” it further added.
The statement also claimed that while Turkey is aware of which company last serviced the aircraft, they will refrain from naming it to avoid further speculation during ongoing investigations.
Baba Ramdev’s accusation against the Turkish firm
The clarification came after some reports, including Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on suspected a possible ‘foreign conspiracy’ in the tragic Air India plane crash. He alleged the involvement of a Turkish maintenance agency whose contract with Indian airports was terminated last month.
“I got to know that an agency from Turkiye used to take care of the maintenance and service of the aircraft. India will have to keep a close eye on the aviation sector,” Ramdev told the ANI news agency. “There is a possibility of a conspiracy by that agency.”
Without providing any evidence for his claims, Ramdev said that India must stop allowing foreign companies to interfere in such sensitive matters.
Air India plane crash
Meanwhile, authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA testing, and bodies of 14 have been handed over to their families of victims who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash, an official said on Sunday.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8(AI171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed in the plane crash on Thursday.
