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A year after the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has yet to release its final report, leaving the families with many unanswered questions.
Akash Patni’s parents killed in Air India crash. The 14-year-old boy was resting 300 meters from the crash site when he was hit by metal debris from the plane’s wing and subsequently engulfed in flames. (News18)
For David Christian, a 72-year-old retired government official from Chandkheda, Ahmedabad, air travel will never be the same again.
A few weeks ago, when he and his eldest son flew to Australia, David made sure they boarded separate flights. This precaution stemmed from a fear he never imagined he would live with – the fear of losing his entire family in an aviation disaster.
David lost his younger son Roger Christian Air India AI-171 crash On June 12 last year. Roger, 37, and his wife Rachna, 36, both worked in a care home in London and were on their way back to Britain when the Boeing 787 crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad.
David accompanied the couple to the airport that day. “I spoke to Roger at 1:15 p.m. He told me they were settled in their seats and the flight was about to take off,” David said as he organized some of his son’s belongings.
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“Just 24 minutes later, I had barely reached home when I heard that a plane had crashed. We ran back to the airport and soon learned that the plane had barely taken off when the incident occurred. At the hospital, we realized that we had lost both our son and daughter-in-law.”
The grief for David’s wife Sarla is as deep as it was a year ago.
The family has removed all of Roger’s photos from the walls of their home because they found themselves talking to his photos every day. “My son surprised us by coming home from London on June 7 last year,” the 68-year-old said, struggling to hold back tears. “Even now, it seems as if he’ll suddenly come through the door and surprise us again. For months, we talked to his pictures every day. Eventually, we took them down and locked them in a cupboard in his room.”
lives lost on the ground
This tragedy was not limited to the people on board the plane. At least 16 people on the ground were killed when the plane hit a medical college hostel building, killing aspiring doctors and local residents.
14 year old Akash Patni was also included in these.
Minutes before the accident, Akash had given lunch to his mother Sita Ben, who ran a tea stall near the hostel gate. Tired of the afternoon heat, he slept on a bench about 300 meters away from the accident site.
This disaster appeared before his mother’s eyes.
Sita Ben, 43, said, “Suddenly, there was a deafening sound and then the fire spread over a vast area, incinerating everything in its path. My first instinct was to search for my son. When I couldn’t find him, I ran around to ask for help, but it was too late.”
Sita herself suffered 30 percent burns while searching for the sky in hell. She is still recovering from those injuries.
Her husband, Suresh Patani, an autorickshaw driver, was carrying a passenger nearby when he heard the explosion. “When I reached the spot, people asked me to go to the hospital,” he said. “At the hospital, they directed me to the post-mortem room. As soon as they said that, my heart sank. I knew I had already lost my baby.”
Akash was the youngest of the couple’s five children.
Families still searching for answers
On Thursday evening, several families of the accident victims gathered at the accident site to pay tribute to their loved ones.
Yet beyond the grief, a common feeling united them – a desire for closure.
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A man who lost his younger brother and sister-in-law in the crash said the family still wanted to know who was responsible. “We want to close this. This cannot remain an open case,” he said. “There must be accountability. Whoever is responsible must be held accountable.”
Test
A year after the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has yet to release its final report, leaving the families with many unanswered questions.
Lawyer Mike Andrews, who represents at least 120 victims’ families, told News18 that independent simulator tests initiated by his team have yielded significant findings. He also claimed that documents he obtained pointed to possible electrical problems on the plane.
“The deployment of the ram air turbine at such an early stage suggests that there was a serious problem with the aircraft,” Andrews said. “The RAT can clearly be seen deployed during take-off.”
He said that even after a year, he has not received the data he requested from officials, which included information from the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder, cockpit voice recorder, crash-site videos and diagrams, as well as engine breakdown data.
Ed Pearson of the Foundation for Aviation Safety, who previously raised concerns about electrical faults in the aircraft VT-ANB, said he had shared his findings with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) but received no response.
“I also shared the information with the Indian AAIB, but they also remained unresponsive,” Pearson told News18. He said he had little confidence that investigators would ultimately reach a conclusion based on all available evidence.
CS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, held a press conference in Ahmedabad on Thursday, reiterating the organization’s position that the Boeing 787 involved in the crash may be suffering from significant electrical issues.
The federation was one of the first aviation bodies in India to object to the suggestion that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal may have been responsible for the crash.
“Since the release of the initial report, we have consistently stated that this aircraft had serious electrical problems,” he said. “The 787 has faced a number of issues globally, including concerns related to water ingress into the ram air turbine, batteries and even the electronics bay located behind the cockpit.”
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He also pointed out the delay in the investigation process. “Under ICAO norms, the AAIB is expected to share a draft report with stakeholders at least 30 days before releasing the final report. So far, no draft report has been circulated, suggesting that the investigation is still far from complete.”
Randhawa cautioned against releasing another interim report. He said, “Another interim report will only create more speculation and confusion. It would be better if the investigators take the necessary time and submit a comprehensive final report.”
He said the federation along with captain’s father Pushkar Raj Sabharwal has approached the Supreme Court seeking a judicial inquiry under Rule 12 of the AAIB rules.
after a year
On Friday, the first anniversary of the crash, families plan to gather once again at the crash site for a candlelight vigil in memory of those they lost. Many have also scheduled meetings with their lawyers to discuss the next steps in their legal fight.
A year after the tragedy, the grief still remains heavy. But along with remembrance, families are united by another demand—answers, accountability and closure.
About the author
CNN-News18’s chief correspondent Anvit Srivastava covers crime, security, policing and society in Delhi. His impressive ground reporting has helped him make his mark among select prestigious journalists…read more
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