Air India Confirms Compensation After Deadly Flight 171 Crash
Air India has announced over ₹1.25 crore in compensation per victim’s family after the crash of Flight 171, India’s deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 274 people, including 29 on the ground. Only one person survived among the 242 onboard.
The plane struck a residential area in Meghani Nagar, destroying a medical student hostel and triggering a massive fire. Victims included students, local workers, and a pregnant woman.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson emphasized the airline’s commitment to the victims’ families, adding this is in addition to ₹1 crore already pledged by Tata Sons.
Recovery efforts are underway, with over 100 caregivers and 40 engineers deployed. Support centres have been set up in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and London.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal’s last transmission was: “Mayday… no thrust, losing power.” The aircraft reached only 650 feet before crashing. Both black boxes have been recovered; international experts have joined the investigation.
At Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, families await DNA identification of severely burned bodies. “They were all I had left,” said Anil Patel, who lost his son and daughter-in-law.
India’s aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on all Air India Boeing 787s as the probe continues.