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Families of four victims of the June 12 Air India crash have sued Boeing and Honeywell in a US court, alleging faulty fuel cutoff switches caused the crash that killed 260 people.
The site of the June 12 Air India plane crash (PTI)
Families of four of the passengers killed in the June 12 Air India plane crash have filed a lawsuit against Boeing and Honeywell in a court in Delaware, the United States, alleging that the crash resulted from allegedly faulty fuel switches, which the US Federal Aviation Administration has said do not appear to have caused the accident that killed 260 people.
According to Reuters, the lawsuit, in the Delaware Superior Court, blames Boeing and Honeywell, which made the switches, for the crash seconds after Flight 171 took off for London from Ahmedabad.
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The plaintiffs point to a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, inspect the fuel cutoff switches’ locking mechanism to ensure it could not be accidentally moved.
The lawsuit appears to be the first in the United States over the crash.
It seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel, who were among the 229 passengers who died.
Twelve crew members and 19 people on the ground were also killed. One passenger survived.
WHAT AAIB PRELIMINARY PROBE REPORT STATED
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary investigation report into the crash stated that Air India had not conducted the suggested inspections.
It had also stated that 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.
The report noted “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied with on the aircraft as well as engines.”
MEDIA REPORTS AND THE LAWSUIT
A Reuters report had claimed that the cockpit recording of dialogue between the jet’s two pilots suggests that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit by the victims’ families maintains that the switches are in a place in the cockpit where they were more likely to be inadvertently pushed, which “effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff.”
However, aviation safety experts told Reuters that they could not be accidentally flipped based on their location and design.
ALSO READ | Air India Crash: Pilot’s Father Seeks Fresh Probe, Says ‘Selective Leaks Tarnished Reputation’
About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
September 18, 2025, 14:18 IST
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