Air India 171 families urge completion of crash report a year on

On the first anniversary of the Air India Flight 171 disaster, bereaved families have urged India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to complete its report into the cause of the crash that killed 260 people. The flight was bound for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad but came down just 32 seconds after takeoff, with the Boeing 787 colliding with accommodation used by medical students. Only one person survived. A year on, the site still bears a crater left by the tail of the aircraft, with wreckage spread across the equivalent of five football pitches, and families say their grief remains raw.

Bereaved families of the victims of Air India Flight 171 have urged India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to complete its report into the cause of the crash, which killed 260 people a year ago. Their appeal comes on the first anniversary of one of the worst aviation disasters the country has seen in years, as relatives continue to wait for official answers about why the aircraft came down.

The flight had been bound for London's Gatwick Airport from Ahmedabad. Instead of completing its journey, it crashed shortly after takeoff, with the disaster unfolding in just 32 seconds. The lives of those on board, set for London, were lost almost as soon as the aircraft left the ground.

The Boeing 787 came down onto accommodation used by medical students, compounding the toll on the ground. In all, 260 people were killed in the crash. Amid the devastation, there was only one survivor.

A year on, the scene still bears the marks of that day. A crater remains where the tail of the plane struck the ground, while the wreckage spread across an area equivalent to five football pitches. Aircraft can still be heard passing overhead, a constant reminder for those who live nearby of what happened there.

For the families left behind, the loss has reshaped their lives. One mother searched desperately for her son in the aftermath of the crash. Her 12-year-old boy was among the dead, but his death was kept from her for 20 days, as she was repeatedly told that he was fine while she lay in hospital asking where he was.

Her grief has been so great that she now leaves her home only for weekly medical checks and has never returned to the site of the crash. Other relatives carry similar wounds, among them a man who lost the wife with whom he had once shared a home in Ahmedabad.

It is against this backdrop of unresolved mourning that the families have pressed the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to finish its work and set out the cause of the crash. A year after the disaster, the memories remain raw, and for those who lost loved ones, the completion of the report is bound up with their search for answers about how the tragedy happened.

Loading article...