Families of four victims of June's deadly Air India Flight 171 crash are suing Boeing and aircraft parts maker Honeywell, alleging that faulty fuel switches led to the tragedy that killed 260 people—despite investigators and US regulators questioning that link. The suit, submitted in Delaware Superior Court, claims the companies failed to address a known safety risk: a 2018 FAA advisory had recommended—but did not require—inspections of fuel cutoff switch mechanisms on Boeing aircraft, including the 787 that crashed, to ensure they could not be accidentally activated, per Reuters.
According to India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Air India had not performed these suggested inspections, though maintenance records show the crashed plane's throttle control module, which includes the switches, was replaced twice, in 2019 and 2023. The families argue Boeing and Honeywell "sat idly" behind the advisory without warning airlines there might be an issue with the switches and failed to supply replacement parts, per the BBC. They argue the switches' placement in the cockpit made them susceptible to being accidentally triggered. It "effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff," the lawsuit says.
However, some aviation safety experts told Reuters that the design and location of the switches would make accidental activation unlikely. For one thing, they have locks. In cockpit dialogue, the first officer accused the captain of turning off the fuel supply switches, though the captain denied doing so. The lawsuit is the first in the US concerning this crash and seeks damages for the deaths of four passengers, all citizens of India or Britain. The crash, which occurred seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad bound for London, killed 229 passengers, 12 crew, and 19 people on the ground. Only one passenger survived.
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