Families of the victims of the Air India plane crash have called for a UK-led investigation into the disaster following “serious concerns” over the investigation in India.
Some of the relatives of those killed in the tragedy have written to the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), saying they have lost confidence in the inquiry and want an independent process they can trust.
Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner travelling from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after take-off on June 12, 2025, sending shockwaves across the globe.
The aircraft plummeted into a residential area in Ahmedabad, hitting the B.J. Medical College boys’ hostel and staff quarters, killing 260 people altogether.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, 40, was the sole survivor of the plane crash, escaping through a gap created when his section of the fuselage detached upon impact.
A preliminary report released in July 2025 by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) revealed that both engines lost thrust because the fuel-control switches were moved from “run” to the “cut off” position roughly three seconds after lift off.
In the cockpit, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he “did the cut-off”, the report said. The other pilot responded that he did not do so, the report stated.
One of the engines was able to restart after the switches were moved back into their normal inflight position, but could not reverse the plane’s deceleration.
However, the preliminary findings proved controversial because they appeared to lean heavily towards pilot error, with US-based Foundation for Aviation Safety (FAS) describing the report as “woefully inadequate” for failing to investigate the aircraft’s extensive history of electrical issues.
Some of the families of the British victims said they “respected the work” of Indian authorities but called on the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to review the black box data from the flight, according to The Times.
In a letter to the chief inspector of the AAIB, Robert Balls, they reportedly wrote: “A review by the UK AAIB would provide families like ours with greater confidence that all technical aspects have been properly examined. We are only seeking the truth and reassurance that such a tragedy will not happen again in the future.”
The families outlined three “technical concerns” which, if confirmed, they say could “significantly alter the current understanding of what caused the crash”.
These technical concerns are a potential electrical system failure prior to the fuel cut-off, questions over when the Ram Air Turbine was deployed, and the operation of an emergency system that automatically deploys a propeller.
More than 30 families of the 52 returning Britons who died in the crash, have signed the letter.
