The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to place on record within three weeks a report on the “procedural protocol” followed to conduct an inquiry into the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, which killed 260 persons, Live Law reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also urged all those involved in the case not to be swayed by media reports on technical glitches, and to exercise restraint in commenting on any particular brand of aircraft.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which was en route to London’s Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad, crashed 33 seconds after taking off.

There were 242 persons aboard the aircraft. One passenger survived with “impact injuries”.

Nineteen persons were killed on the ground after the aircraft crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College and Hospital in Ahmedabad.

On Wednesday, the bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed in the matter, including one filed by 91-year-old Pushkarraj Sabharwal, the father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command.

Pushkarraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots have sought a court-monitored judicial inquiry into the crash.

“This very unfortunate accident,” Live Law quoted the chief justice as saying on Wednesday. “It’s not a small tragedy for any nation. For a parent losing a pilot son like this, we can understand...But let us also be very very conservative in making observations against any particular brand of aircraft.”

He added that there “was a time [when the] Dreamliner was treated as one of the best and safest aircraft”.

During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, told the court that the inquiry by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was in its final stages, and that some parts of it needed to be carried out in foreign countries, PTI reported.

Mehta asked that the petitions be listed after three weeks for a comprehensive hearing.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing non-governmental organisation Safety Matters Foundation, said that three other Boeing 787s had met with similar incidents, PTI reported.

The NGO had also sought an independent, court-monitored investigation into the crash.

“Don’t go by the media reports,” Live Law quoted the chief justice as saying in response.

Kant added that there were media reports of a Boeing 787 from London to Bengaluru suffering an issue related to a switch. However, the airline later came out with an official statement that the switch was in order, he added.

Bhushan further noted that the Union government had not filed any response to the petitions. He added that in the ongoing Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau inquiry, five members were from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, whose regulatory actions were also under the scanner.

The advocate also said that the Union government’s manual, or the 2017 Aircraft Investigation of Accidents and Incidents Rules, “requires that in such matters when there is a serious accident involving loss of lives, there has to be a court of inquiry, which is in addition to if not in substitution of this investigation”, The Indian Express reported.

The advocate further claimed that 8,000 pilots had written to the Union government saying that the Boeing 787s were unsafe and should be grounded.

However, the court said that it had not heard of this development.