Ahmedabad Air India crash victim’s son sues Boeing in US court

The son of one of the victims of the Air India (AI-171) plane crash in Ahmedabad has filed a lawsuit against aircraft manufacturer Boeing in a US Federal Court seeking speedy justice, as he feels the trial will be dragged on for years in India.

Hir Prajapati, who lost his mother, Kalpana Ben Prajapati, in the AI-171 plane crash, said that he is fighting the case in the USA so that the verdict is pronounced early, according to a report in ANI.

Lawyer represents 65 victims’ families

“We have hired Mike Andrews (lawyer). We expect the raw details of information from the black-box to come before us at the earliest so that we can make further decisions regarding the next course of steps, along with our lawyer. In India, trials get dragged out for years. We are fighting the case in the US so that a decision is pronounced early,” he told the news agency on Tuesday (August 12).

Also read: Ahmedabad Air India crash: Minister backs ‘unbiased’ probe; pilots flag key data gaps

Lawyer Andrews is representing the families of 65 victims. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people on board, and it crashed into a building minutes after take-off. Only one passenger survived. Nineteen people on the ground were also killed.

Andrews told the news agency, “Today marks two months of this tragedy. It has been a very difficult day for everyone involved. The families organised a candlelight vigil to stand in remembrance. We are thankful and grateful to have been invited to come and attend...There are no words to think of the destruction...The families are back now, searching for answers.”

Indian govt’s help acknowledged

While thanking the Indian government for helping his family during the tragedy, Hir said he would get justice.

Also read: Exclusive | Do Lion Air, Air India 171 crashes flag Boeing design flaw?

“We believe we will get justice...When the incident happened, the government helped us a lot. The police also helped us. We are thankful to the doctors too, who handed over the bodies to us after a swift DNA test,” he said.

Sharing details of the booking of the flight for his mother, Hir said he had initially booked the ticket from Ahmedabad to London on June 12 and later changed it to June 12 as per her request.

Also read: Ahmedabad Air India plane crash: A timeline of events

“My mother, Kalpana Ben Prajapati, died in the accident...I had initially booked a June 9 flight for her, but she had a fast and she told me that she cannot travel that day. So, I then rescheduled it to June 11. But she told me that she doesn't want to travel on an odd date. So, I finally booked a ticket for June 12,” Hir was quoted as saying in the report.