AI171 crash victims' families sue Boeing, Honeywell as legal battle begins

Families of passengers killed in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad have filed a lawsuit in the United States against Boeing and Honeywell, alleging defective dual switches played a role in the disaster.

Relatives of four victims filed the case on Tuesday (September 16) in Delaware Superior Court, reported Reuters. The families alleged that Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, and Honeywell, which supplied the switches, are responsible for the AI171 crash that happened on June 12, 2025.

The suit claimed the positioning of the switches in the cockpit made them prone to being inadvertently triggered which"effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff."

The families referred to a 2018 US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory urging airlines to inspect the fuel cutoff switches on Boeing 787s, though it was not made mandatory.

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary report, noted Air India has not carried out such checks, though all official airworthiness directives had been followed.

Boeing declined to comment, while Honeywell did not respond to Reuters' request for a comment.

Growing lawsuits 

The US-based law firm Beasley Allen has said it represents more than 100 families of victims and is preparing to file a lawsuit in the AI171 flight crash case.

Attorney Mike Andrews, representing the families, told CNBC-TV18 that the Indian investigation has raised "more questions than it provided answers".

"The preliminary findings unfairly fuelled speculation about pilot error," he said, adding that early deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT) pointed to possible deeper technical failures.

The firm has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in the US for access to the flight recorders and is reviewing FAA and Boeing documents on the 787 that highlight safety concerns.

The crash, compensation, and preliminary report

The AAIB said in July that movement of the fuel control switches from "run" to "cut off" during take-off caused both engines to lose thrust, leading to the crash within 30 seconds of take-off.

Voice recording captured one pilot asking the other why fuel was cut off, to which the co-pilot replied, "I did not do it."

Air India has so far released interim compensation to families of 207 deceased passengers and most victims on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Tata Group has created the "AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust" to distribute a separate ₹1 crore relief per victim, though disbursements have not yet started, CNBC-TV18 reported earlier. 

The final investigation report is expected to come by June 2026.