Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Families of 4 Passengers Who Died on Air India Flight AI171 That Crashed in June Sue Boeing and Honeywell in US, Blame Faulty Fuel Switches for Accident
Families of four passengers who died in the Air India flight AI171 which crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 have filed a lawsuit blaming faulty fuel switches made by Boeing and Honeywell. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel.
Mumbai, September 18: In the latest development in the Air India plane crash of Ahmedabad, four families of passengers killed in the June 12 incident have filed a lawsuit in the United States against against Boeing and aircraft parts maker Honeywell. Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad while en route to London Gatwick. In their lawsuit, the familes claimed that the accident occurred due to allegedly faulty fuel switches.
However, the US Federal Aviation Administration has said faulty switches do not appear to have caused the accident that killed at least 260 people, including 230 passengers, 12 crew members, and several people on the ground. Lucikly, only one passenger survived the plane crash. According to a report in Reuters, the lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, September 17, Delaware Superior Court. The lawsuit blames Boeing and Honeywell, which made the switches, for the Air India AI171 flight crash. Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Lone Survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh of Air India Flight AI171 Arrested for Allegedly Lying About Being on Ill-Fated Flight? Here’s a Fact Check As Fake Social Media Post Goes Viral.
Lawsuit Blames Faulty Switches for Air India AI171 Flight Crash
In its suit, the plaintiffs pointed to a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended operators of several Boeing models, including the 787 to inspect the fuel cutoff switches' locking mechanism in order to ensure it could not be accidentally moved. However, a preliminary investigation report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) revealed that Air India had not conducted the suggested inspections.
The report on the Air India AI171 crash also revealed that the maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash. "All applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied with on the aircraft as well as engines", the report added. While the lawsuit has been filed, Boeing declined to comment, whereas Honeywell did respond to a request for comment.
A cockpit recording of the AIr India AI171 plane between the two pilot suggests that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. The September 17 lawsuit in America maintains that the switches in the cockpit are in a place where they were more likely to be inadvertently pushed, thereby guaranteeing that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff. However, aviation safety experts said that switches in cockpit could not be flipped accidentally based on their location and design. AAIB Preliminary Report on Air India Flight AI171 Crash: Both Engines of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Shut Down After Shift in Fuel Control Switches, Cockpit Audio Reveals One Pilot Told Another 'I Didn’t Do It’.
The lawsuit, which appears to be the first in America over the Air India plane crash seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel. All four were among the passengers of the plane who died in the Air Indian AI171 crash on June 12. It is also reported that the plaintiffs are citizens of and live in either India or Britain.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2025 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).