Boeing and Justice Department seek judge's approval for deal opposed by crash victims' families
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Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India plane crash: UK law firm supports British families over 'serious questions'
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A London law firm on Thursday said it has been formally retained by a number of British families who lost loved ones in the London-bound Air India AI171 plane crash soon after take-off from Ahmedabad three weeks ago, to address "serious questions" once the preliminary report into the investigation is Law said its aviation team, supported by international experts in the field, are focussed on two specific areas of concern: the "cause of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployment, and then the sequential loss of thrust in both engines".The firm's aviation partners, James Healy-Pratt and Owen Hanna, are said to be "working closely" with around 20 British families in relation to the coronial process as well as the London lawyers appointed by Air India and its aviation insurers dealing with interim payments."This is an incredibly sensitive time for the AI171 families, and we are supporting them through the various processes in the UK and the US," said Healy-Pratt."On the air safety aspects, our technical investigation team believes that the RAT was automatically deployed. This suggests a serious systems failure around the critical point of take-off," he said."Serious questions will need to be asked of both Air India and Boeing once the preliminary report is published in the coming weeks. The families of AI171 want truth and justice, and we stand in solidarity with them," he team leading the technical investigation is said to include a renowned aviation claimant barrister in England and Wales, John Kimbell KC, former US Navy aviator and aviation attorney Daniel T. Barks in Virginia - where Boeing is headquartered in the US, and a former UK Royal Air Force (RAF) fast jet and Boeing London Gatwick airport bound AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had crashed near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. It resulted in the death of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as 19 deaths on the ground as it crashed into the hostel block of the city's BJ Medical told PTI that the law firm's focus is on the preliminary investigation report, which is expected later this month."We are preparing our families for several eventualities, depending on the evidence, because we've always been very clear that our advice is evidence based," explained the lawyer."We have focused on the reasons why the RAT deployed and the reasons why there was not enough thrust. Those are the two core issues our families need and want answers about, and that's what we hope the Black Boxes will reveal, and there'll be some mention of that in the preliminary accident report in 10 days' time," he on its findings, Healy-Pratt indicated that the "path to justice and truth" may well be in the High Court in London or in the US federal court of Virginia against Boeing."For some, financial justice is one part of what is owed to them and America generously provides financial justice to (impacted) families... and it could be that financial justice was in the region of 8 to 10 million dollars per lost loved one. And, that is very different from average financial justice in England or average financial justice in India," said Law began by advising impacted families based in the UK and is now said to be approached by some in India too. Asked if there were any procedural concerns at this stage, Healy-Pratt said he had come across only "simple factual information" being sought from the families at this stage."We don't think that they are signing away any rights. The families have concerns about the identification process in London, because there have been issues with some of the repatriation for the loved ones," he said."They have also got issues with the silence around the investigation. They want to know why their loved ones lost their lives... a lot of them are very angry because they can't believe their loved ones have died. They want justice and they want truth, and so that's what we're doing to help them," he UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Disaster Victim Identification have been assisting the Indian authorities with the technical safety investigation as well as the DNA identification as 52 British nationals are among the victims of the tragedy.
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
UK law firm backs families of Ahmedabad plane crash's British victims
A London law firm on Thursday said it has been formally retained by a number of British families who lost loved ones in the London-bound Air India AI171 plane crash soon after take-off from Ahmedabad three weeks ago, to address 'serious questions' once the preliminary report into the investigation is released. The Gatwick-bound Air India AI171 flight crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing all but one of the 242 persons onboard the aircraft. (Reuters) Keystone Law said its aviation team, supported by international experts in the field, are focussed on two specific areas of concern: the 'cause of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployment, and then the sequential loss of thrust in both engines'. The firm's aviation partners, James Healy-Pratt and Owen Hanna, are said to be 'working closely' with around 20 British families in relation to the coronial process as well as the London lawyers appointed by Air India and its aviation insurers dealing with interim payments. 'This is an incredibly sensitive time for the AI171 families, and we are supporting them through the various processes in the UK and the US,' said Healy-Pratt. 'On the air safety aspects, our technical investigation team believes that the RAT was automatically deployed. This suggests a serious systems failure around the critical point of take-off,' he said. 'Serious questions will need to be asked of both Air India and Boeing once the preliminary report is published in the coming weeks. The families of AI171 want truth and justice, and we stand in solidarity with them,' he said. The team leading the technical investigation is said to include a renowned aviation claimant barrister in England and Wales, John Kimbell KC, former US Navy aviator and aviation attorney Daniel T. Barks in Virginia – where Boeing is headquartered in the US, and a former UK Royal Air Force (RAF) fast jet and Boeing captain. The London Gatwick airport bound AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had crashed near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. It resulted in the death of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as 19 deaths on the ground as it crashed into the hostel block of the city's BJ Medical College. Healy-Pratt told PTI that the law firm's focus is on the preliminary investigation report, which is expected later this month. 'We are preparing our families for several eventualities, depending on the evidence, because we've always been very clear that our advice is evidence based,' explained the lawyer. 'We have focused on the reasons why the RAT deployed and the reasons why there was not enough thrust. Those are the two core issues our families need and want answers about, and that's what we hope the Black Boxes will reveal, and there'll be some mention of that in the preliminary accident report in 10 days' time,' he said. Based on its findings, Healy-Pratt indicated that the 'path to justice and truth' may well be in the High Court in London or in the US federal court of Virginia against Boeing. 'For some, financial justice is one part of what is owed to them and America generously provides financial justice to (impacted) families… and it could be that financial justice was in the region of 8 to 10 million dollars per lost loved one. And, that is very different from average financial justice in England or average financial justice in India,' said Healy-Pratt. Keystone Law began by advising impacted families based in the UK and is now said to be approached by some in India too. Asked if there were any procedural concerns at this stage, Healy-Pratt said he had come across only 'simple factual information' being sought from the families at this stage. 'We don't think that they are signing away any rights. The families have concerns about the identification process in London, because there have been issues with some of the repatriation for the loved ones," he said. "They have also got issues with the silence around the investigation. They want to know why their loved ones lost their lives… a lot of them are very angry because they can't believe their loved ones have died. They want justice and they want truth, and so that's what we're doing to help them,' he added. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Disaster Victim Identification have been assisting the Indian authorities with the technical safety investigation as well as the DNA identification as 52 British nationals are among the victims of the tragedy.
NDTV
13 hours ago
- NDTV
Ahead Of Air India Crash Report, A Recap Of The Dreamliner's Sketchy Past
Air India flight AI171, which crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 killing all but one on board, was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Till that fateful day, not a single Dreamliner had been involved in a crash. The Dreamliner fleet has been airborne since 2011 and nearly every third widebody aircraft flying across the world today is a Boeing 787. The Ahmedabad crash is being seen as a rare occurrence, but what caused the crash? Theories abound, but only two broad themes matter - was it equipment failure, or was it human error? Aviation experts have already ruled out environmental factors such as a storm, lightning, etc, since it was a clear day. Terrorism as a cause has also not been established till now, though it will be conclusively ruled out only after the investigation into the crash has been completed. According to reports, the preliminary probe report of the crash is expected to be released next week. So as of now, the only two plausible possibilities are: either the aircraft systems malfunctioned, or there was a cockpit error. All Eyes On Boeing Boeing & Co, the manufacturer of the Dreamliners, has found itself in the spotlight after this crash. It has anyway been under intense global scrutiny for alleged malpractices in quality checks while making aircraft, including the 787s, for some time now. Last year, Sam Salehpour, a veteran quality engineer with Boeing for the 777s and also other aircraft, including the 787s (Dreamliners), who later turned into a whistleblower, gave a written testimony to the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. In his testimony, Salehpour alleged that Boeing prioritises "speed of production over safety and quality and incentivizes management to overlook significant defects in Boeing's airplanes". He said, "Despite what Boeing officials state publicly, there is no safety culture at Boeing and employees like me who speak up about defects with its production activities and lack of quality control are ignored, marginalized, threatened, sidelined, and worse." Some of Salehpour's allegations are quite damning, particularly on the 787s. Boeing has denied all of these allegations. Salehpour went on to say that while working on the 787s in late 2020, he observed that Boeing had begun taking shortcuts to reduce bottlenecks in production and speed up the delivery of 787s, allowing defective parts and defective installations in the Dreamliner fleet. Specifically, he alleged that improper fastening of fuselage sections posed risks to the aircraft's longevity and could lead to a mid-flight breakup of the aircraft after many thousand trips. While the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken note of Salehpour's allegations and started an investigation into Boeing's practices, the regulator has not come out with its findings till now. Perhaps the crash at Ahmedabad will spur the FAA to hasten the probe. Not just Salhepour's allegations, Boeing has been in FAA crosshairs earlier too for the Dreamliner fleet. In 2013, two 787s operated by Japan Airlines caught fire, which was later attributed to overheating of the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries. At that time, the FAA had quickly grounded the whole of the Dreamliner fleet and had also banned fresh deliveries of these aircraft from Boeing. The manufacturer then fixed the problem by offering an improved battery insulation, among other solutions, before the Dreamliners were allowed to fly again. So, in the aftermath of the deadly Ahmedabad crash, the FAA needs to not just close the existing probe and release its report, but perhaps Boeing should also be subjected to enhanced scrutiny. What About Engine Maker? But in all the focus on Boeing and its alleged malpractices, are we missing the woods for the trees? If the AI 171 crash involved a twin-engine failure, as is being widely believed now, shouldn't the engine manufacturer - GE Aerospace in this case - also have the spotlight turned on to itself? The aircraft that crashed was at least 12 years old, and it is unlikely that Boeing had anything significant to do with it in this period of time - while GE and the Air India maintenance teams would have had to do regular checks. So, along with questioning Boeing, perhaps tough posers should also be made to the maintenance practices at Air India and the role of GE Aerospace. Of course, if the investigation report points to a design flaw with aircraft, any software glitch in electronics, or so on, then Boeing would be culpable - simply because an aircraft engine does not work in isolation, it works in coordination with the rest of hardware and software. DGCA's Hesitation Across the globe, more than 1,100 Dreamliner aircraft are currently in operation with different airlines. Air India has 33 in its fleet, but the largest number of Dreamliners is currently being operated by a couple of American carriers. Their predominance in American airlines' fleets is perhaps one of the reasons the FAA has refrained from grounding the Dreamliner fleet after the Air India crash. A Reuters report quotes US officials and FAA officials as saying that they had not seen any data that would require a grounding of all Dreamliners - as yet. But nothing explains the Indian safety regulator DGCA's reluctance to ground the Dreamliner fleet till investigators get some idea about what caused the crash. The AI 171 crash is being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with experts from several countries joining in. Whatever the findings of the AAIB investigation, one thing is clear: the families and loved ones of the crash victims need answers, and these can only come when culpability is clearly fixed - without undue delay. (Sindhu Bhattacharya is a senior journalist. She has been associated with leading media platforms and has written extensively on aviation policy and airlines.)
