'Inevitable Catastrophe': Families Sue Boeing, Honeywell Over Deadly Gujarat Air India Crash

The families of four passengers who died in the June crash of an Air India Flight in Gujarat have sued plane manufacturing company Boeing and Honeywell, which respectively installed and manufactured the switch, blaming their negligence for the accident, which killed 260 people. London-bound Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12. The lawsuit appears to be the first in the United States over the crash.In a complaint filed Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court, the plaintiffs said the locking mechanism for the switch on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner could be turned off inadvertently or missing, causing a loss of fuel supply and loss of thrust needed for takeoff, news agency Reuters reported.They said both Boeing and Honeywell were

aware of the risk, especially after the US Federal Aviation Administration cautioned in 2018 about disengaged locking mechanisms on several Boeing aircraft.The complaint said that by putting the switch directly behind thrust levers, "Boeing effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff." "What did Honeywell and Boeing do to prevent the inevitable catastrophe? Nothing."Boeing, based in Virginia, and North Carolina-headquartered Honeywell are yet to react on the lawsuit, as per Reuters.The complainants are family members of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel and Babiben Patel, who were among the 229 passengers who died.

The plaintiffs are citizens of India or the United Kingdom, and live in one of those countries.A preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in July had flagged confusion in the cockpit before the crash.Also in July, Bryan Bedford, a top official of the US FAA, expressed a "high level of confidence" that a mechanical problem or inadvertent movement of fuel control components were not to blame.In the past, Boeing incurred more than $20 billion in legal and other costs from two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The best-selling plane was grounded for 20 months.