Part of the wreckage of the crashed Air India plane in the Ahmedabad airport premises on July 12, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Families of Air India passengers who died in the air crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 will take action against Boeing in the US courts very soon, to obtain evidence and answers about the role of the fuel control switches in the accident, James Healy-Pratt, partner of UK law firm Keystone Law said on Saturday.
Keystone Law has been engaged by the families of UK-based victims of the accident. The crash resulted in the death of 260 persons, including passengers, crew and persons on ground. These included 53 British citizens.
“The preliminary report rules out a number of theories and focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and use of the fuel control switches. The specific inclusion of a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) from December 2018 that highlights the defective fuel control switches is of real significance. Both Air India and Boeing have serious questions to answer arising out of this preliminary report,” Healy-Pratt said in a statement.
Apart from moving courts in the US, the law firm is also assisting families in securing compensation from Air India as per the Montreal Convention. “We are in regular and constructive contact with Air India’s lawyers in London,” he said.
In its preliminary investigation report, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued a SAIB regarding potential disengagement regarding the fuel control switch locking feature. The bulletin was based on reports from Boeing 737 operators that the fuel control switches were installed with locking features disengaged.
“The airworthiness concern was not categorised as an unsafe condition that would warrant an airworthiness directive by the FAA,” the AAIB noted. Air India also informed AAIB that inspections as suggested by the FAA bulletin were not carried out because those were not mandatory.
In a statement Boeing said it continues to support the accident investigation and Air India.
Published on July 12, 2025