Air India crash: Families of 4 victims sue Boeing, Honeywell in US court

The families of four passengers who died in the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad have filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Superior Court against Boeing and Honeywell, alleging that negligence and a defective fuel cutoff switch led to the tragedy that killed 260 people, reported Reuters.

 

Families sue Boeing and Honeywell over Air India crash

 

The complaint, filed on Wednesday, holds Boeing, which installed the switch, and Honeywell, which manufactured it, responsible for the accident. The plaintiffs said the locking mechanism for the switch on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner could be inadvertently disengaged or missing, cutting off fuel supply and the thrust needed for take-off.

   

According to the lawsuit, both companies were aware of the risk, particularly after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a 2018 caution about disengaged locking mechanisms on several Boeing aircraft. The families argue that the placement of the switches directly behind the thrust levers increased the likelihood of accidental activation.

 

“By putting the switch directly behind thrust levers, Boeing effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff,” the complaint said. It added: “What did Honeywell and Boeing do to prevent the inevitable catastrophe? Nothing,” reported CNBC.

 

The case seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel, who were among the 229 passengers killed. The plaintiffs are citizens of and live in either India or Britain. This is believed to be the first lawsuit in the United States related to the crash.

 

AAIB preliminary report on Air India crash

 

Authorities in India, the United Kingdom and the United States have not determined a definitive cause of the accident. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a preliminary report in July, which found that both fuel control switches—critical for regulating engine fuel flow—moved to the “cutoff” position seconds after take-off, abruptly cutting off fuel to the engines. Although the switches were moved back to “run” within 10 seconds, the engines did not regain thrust in time.

 

Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other about the fuel switch movement during the critical moment. The other pilot denied activating it. Investigators have not been able to determine whether the exchange was between First Officer Clive Kunder or Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. The AAIB is examining whether the switch movement was due to human error, miscommunication or a systems-related anomaly.

 

FAA finds no mechanical fault in crash probe

 

In July, US FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said investigators had found no conclusive evidence of a mechanical fault in the fuel control system. He added that there were no signs of malfunction in the fuel control unit or indications of unintentional manipulation of the fuel switches.

 

Air India Flight 171 crashed minutes after take-off

 

Air India Flight 171, bound for London Gatwick with 242 people on board, crashed minutes after take-off into a medical college in Ahmedabad’s Meghani Nagar area. The accident killed 241 passengers and crew, as well as 19 people on the ground.

 

The sole survivor was 28-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, who managed to escape through a damaged emergency exit from seat 11A.