Air India crash: 65 families from India and the UK hire US law firm

New Delhi: Well-known US law firm Beasley Allen has been enlisted by at least 65 Indian and British families who lost loved ones in the tragic June 12 Air India crash to investigate legal action, potentially in American courts.

The firm’s top aviation lawyer, Mike Andrews, met several bereaved families at the crash site in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood of Ahmedabad before travelling to Vadodara.

Andrews told reporters on Friday that the families were frantic for justice, answers, and openness regarding the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.

A lot of these families want to know what happened, why it happened, and what legal options are available, Andrews said.

According to him, the majority of the 65 families the firm currently represents are from Gujarat and the Union Territory of Diu. Many are Indian-born British citizens.

Depending on how the ongoing investigation turns out, Andrews said the families might be able to pursue a product liability claim in the US.

“We expect these cases to be filed in a US federal court if Boeing is found responsible,” he added, emphasising that the United States has more robust mechanisms for holding businesses accountable through its product liability laws.

In order to enable independent analysis by specialists and lawyers, he urged the Indian government to release the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder data as soon as possible.

His team have visited the crash site, taken pictures, and interviewed witnesses.

The extent of the devastation is enormous, he stated.

Shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8. headed to London Gatwick, crashed.

As many as 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground, including medical students, were killed when the plane crashed into a medical college hostel complex in Meghaninagar and caught fire.

IANS