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Air India AI-171 Crash: The Aftermath, Trauma, and Compensation

Friday, June 12, 2026
5 min read
Air India AI-171 Crash: The Aftermath, Trauma, and Compensation

A year has passed since that awful Air India AI-171 crash. Twenty-six hundred lives lost. And Vishwash Kumar Ramesh , he was the only one left standing. He keeps asking for honesty. For transparency. Answers. It’s not just a demand; it feels like a constant ache. The trauma, it doesn't just stay on the day of the disaster.

“What many people perhaps don’t fully appreciate is that the trauma didn’t end on the day of the disaster,” Ramesh said. He lives with these huge psychological scars. And the loss of his brother. Plus all those unanswered questions about how and why it all happened. It just piles up.

He was the sole survivor of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that went down shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. His brother Ajay… he died in that accident. That loss is central to everything.

“I know those questions are not just on my mind,” Ramesh continued. “They are on the minds of every affected family.” He needs clarity. Real answers. Nothing will ever change what happened, obviously. But families deserve it. They deserve honesty.

The official investigation? Still hanging there. Investigators haven't released their final findings yet. But we have some bits. The preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau the AAIB said something concrete. Both fuel switches on the plane moved to the “cut-off” position right after they took off. Fuel supply cut. Engines starved. That’s what they found initially.

Ramesh reportedly met with the air accident investigators in Ahmedabad back in March, trying to push for some movement on this probe. It sounds like a draining process.

Then there’s the money part. His representative, Sanjiv Patel, told the Press Association about the support offered by Air India. They gave him twenty-one thousand five hundred pounds about twenty-five lakh rupees. That was the interim payment they offered to families who lost loved ones in that crash.

But it isn't enough. Patel stressed how things are going for Ramesh personally. “He continues to struggle physically, psychologically and financially,” Patel said. The reality is tough. Viswash and his family keep facing real hardship.

Patel added something heavy about the impact of everything. Because of these physical and psychological effects, Ramesh just can’t go back to work. He can’t support his wife or his five-year-old son like he used to be. It changes everything.

His legal team is still fighting. They are pursuing civil action related to this whole disaster. Trying to get some form of accountability.

Air India, meanwhile, released a statement. They said they remain committed to supporting everyone impacted by the tragedy with care and compassion. A spokesperson quoted saying company reps had met Ramesh and were continuing talks about support. That’s the official line.

But what did Air India actually do? On Thursday, they said they completed interim compensation payments for most families affected. According to ANI, that amount was twenty-five lakh rupees paid out to the families of ninety-six percent of the deceased victims. And ninety-four percent of those injured on the ground have received some form of payment either interim or final, depending on their injuries.

The process for final compensation is still moving along. Air India said there’s no pressure on families to accept settlement offers in a fixed timeframe. That sounds bureaucratic. It doesn't sound like justice.

And then there’s the Tata Group stepping in too. They provided extra support through the AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust. And they disbursed an ex-gratia amount of one crore rupees to ninety-one percent of eligible families. Another layer added on top of the chaos.

The crash itself remains a dark spot. It’s still one of India's deadliest aviation disasters in recent years. Officials keep saying the investigation is in its final stages. The real report? Expected soon. But for Vishwash and his family, time doesn't heal the wounds. It just keeps them waiting.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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