One year after the Air India flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad, the families of the 260 victims are still waiting for closure. The crash site has been cleared, rescue operations have ended, and compensation discussions are ongoing, but the most difficult wait continues: the wait for an answer about what caused the tragedy.
Unanswered Questions Haunt Families
As the first anniversary of the Ahmedabad crash approaches, the families say they still do not know what caused the Boeing 787 to go down moments after take-off. On June 12, 2025, the London-bound flight crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar, killing 260 persons, including 241 on board and 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.
In April, a group of bereaved families wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking access to the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder data. They argued that they had the right to know what happened in the final moments.
Families Demand Truth Over Compensation
“We don’t want money, but only want to know what happened,” says Nilesh Purohit, who lost his 24-year-old son. Other relatives echo this sentiment, stating that while financial assistance is important, it cannot replace clarity about the tragedy. “We want to know the truth about what caused the crash and whether there was any technical problem,” they say in their appeal.
The demand for transparency is also linked to the emotional struggle of identifying and recovering personal belongings. Some families have complained that the process of searching through recovered items has added another layer of distress. Kinjal Patel, who lost her mother, raised concerns about the difficulty of searching for belongings through digital platforms, citing thousands of listed items and unclear images that made the process extremely challenging.
Communication and Compensation Concerns
Several relatives questioned the communication process, saying families needed more direct updates from authorities during the investigation. Romin Vora, who lost three family members, highlighted the difficulties faced by families relying only on digital communication channels, noting that many people struggled to access the available systems.
The compensation process has also been a point of discussion. Radhika Rupani, daughter of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani who was among those killed, raised concerns about the requirement for families to sign documents linked to final settlements before the completion of the investigation. She argued that families deserved transparency and clarity before closing their claims, saying they needed “answers” and “closure” rather than only financial assistance.
Air India denied that families were being pressured and said there was no deadline forcing them to accept final compensation. The airline stated that families were free to wait for the investigation report before deciding on settlements.
Sole Survivor Calls for Transparency
Several families have argued that closure cannot come through compensation alone. The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, has also spoken about the need for transparency, saying families deserve “honesty, transparency and answers” and that lessons must emerge from the tragedy.
