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Kin of AI-171 crash ground victims hire US law firm
The firm, led by aviation attorney D Michael Andrews, is exploring product liability claims against Boeing in US federal courts and Montreal Convention claims against Air India in UK courts, though no lawsuits have been filed yet.
Families of 10 people killed on the ground in the Air India Flight AI-171 crash have hired Beasley Allen, the prominent US aviation law firm that secured billions from Boeing over the 737 MAX disasters, as the firm expands its representation of those affected by the tragedy in Ahmedabad on June 12.
The firm, led by aviation attorney D Michael Andrews, is exploring product liability claims against Boeing in US federal courts and Montreal Convention claims against Air India in UK courts, though no lawsuits have been filed yet.
Andrews travelled to India in August to meet families across Gujarat and Mumbai, signing his 10th ground victim family on August 11. Among those killed was Maheshbhai Kalavadia, a Gujarati film producer from Naroda who had attended a meeting at Law Garden before calling his wife at 1:15 pm to say he was heading home. His remains were found 700 metres from the crash site and identified through DNA matching.
“These were innocent people who had nothing to do with the flight - they weren’t even passengers,” said a relative who met Andrews. “They were just going about their normal day when this tragedy struck.”
The Boeing 737 MAX cases that established Beasley Allen’s reputation involved crashes that killed 346 people between 2018 and 2019. Boeing ultimately paid $2.5 billion under a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement and settled more than 90% of claims, acknowledging liability for crashes caused by the faulty Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) it built into the jets.
Andrews has taken on the case of victims killed in the medical college hostel where the plane crashed, including two people in the food preparation area and medical students in the mess hall, and also represents the family of a husband and wife killed while on a scooter for document verification.
The firm is pursuing a water leak theory, focusing on the Boeing 787-8’s electrical and equipment bay beneath the cockpit that houses flight computers including FADEC and TCMA systems capable of autonomous aircraft control.
“Above that and in those same areas, there are water lines and couplings that are known to have leaked on prior 787-8 aircraft,” Andrews explained, referencing Boeing service bulletins about coupling leaks that can allow water into computer equipment.
The firm is filing Right to Information requests in India and Freedom of Information Act requests in the US to obtain complete flight data recorder information for independent expert analysis, Andrews told HT.
Andrews met the sole survivor Ramesh and other families during his India visit, saying conversations were brief and private. He plans to file cases separately for each victim but has no fixed timetable pending data collection.
