Civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Thursday said that the government is considering the setting up of an independent safety board to separate the role of the investigator from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
?As a need was felt that the role of the regulator and the investigator should be ?de-linked?, the government was considering a separate body to probe accidents,? the minister said.
The development follows an Air India Express flight crash in Managalore on May 22 killing 158 people out of 166 on board.
?A court of inquiry into the Mangalore air crash, which claimed 158 lives, is likely to be notified shortly,? Patel added.
The proposed safety board would be constituted on the lines of US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB investigates all major accidents in the US including air crashes.
Meanwhile, the DGCA has decided to inspect all 11 critical airports in the country to ensure safe domestic skies.
Some of the critical airports in the country are those in Leh, Shimla, Kullu, Port Blair and Agartala.
In a bid to tighten air safety standards in the country the government has also set up Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC).