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The families of four passengers who died in the 12 June Air India crash are suing manufacturers Boeing and Honeywell, citing negligence as being a cause for the disaster.
In court filings seen by the BBC, filed in the US on Tuesday, the plaintiffs say that faulty fuel switches caused the crash, which killed 260 people, and argue that the manufacturers were aware of the risk of a potential crash.
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Air India Flight 171 crashed 32 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport in western India en route to London Gatwick, killing 229 passengers, 12 crew, and 19 people on the ground. One survivor miraculously walked away.
The suit argues that both companies were aware of the fact that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner’s locking mechanism could potentially be turned off, thus resulting in a depleting fuel supply and loss of thrust required for a successful takeoff.
According to the families, this mechanical flaw “allowed for inadvertent cutoff of fuel supply and total loss of thrust necessary”.
“And what did Honeywell and Boeing do to prevent the inevitable catastrophe? Nothing,” they wrote.
In a report into the crash, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau cited a 2018 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that provided a non-mandatory recommendation that 787-8 Dreamliners inspect their locking mechanisms to ensure they cannot accidentally move, cut off fuel supply, and thus cause a crash.
However, aviation experts told Reuters that due to the location and design of the locking mechanisms in the cockpit, they could not be moved.
Despite investigations by the US, UK, and India, there has thus far been no conclusive decision on the cause of the crash.
Speaking to reporters in July, the FAA administrator, Bryan Bedford, said on the crash that “we can say with a high level of confidence it doesn’t appear to be a mechanical issue with the Boeing fuel control unit”.
Recordings of the cockpit dialogue between the two pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, suggest that the fuel to the engines was cut by the captain.
The lawsuit is seeking undisclosed damages for the deaths of flight passengers Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel.
