The Tragic Loss and Unanswered Questions of the Air India AI-171 Crash

For David Christian , 72, a retired government official from Chandkheda in Ahmedabad, air travel just isn’t the same anymore. It all changed after what happened.

A few weeks back, when he and his elder son traveled to Australia, David made sure they took separate flights. It was a precaution born out of a fear he never thought he’d have to face the sheer terror of losing his whole family in an aviation disaster.

David lost his younger son, Rozar Christian , in the Air India AI-171 crash last year. That June 12th. Rozar, 37, and his wife Rachna , 36, they were heading back to the UK from London when that Boeing 787 went down near Ahmedabad.

David had been there, at the airport that day. He spoke to Rozar around 1:15 PM. Rozar just told him they were settled in their seats, about to take off. David was sorting through some stuff his friends sent from London, trying to make sense of things then.

Twenty-four minutes later, barely reaching home, the crash happened. We rushed back toward the airport. The plane had barely lifted off when everything went wrong. At the hospital... we realized we’d lost both our son and daughter-in-law.

Sarla , David’s wife, still carries that grief. It remains as raw as it was a year ago.

The family has pulled all photos of Rozar from their walls. They keep talking to his pictures every day. “My son surprised us by coming home from London on June 7th last year,” she said, fighting back tears. “It feels like he could walk through the door any minute now. We took them down and locked them away.”

The tragedy wasn’t just about those on the plane. Sixteen people on the ground died when the aircraft hit a medical college hostel building. Aspiring doctors. Local residents.

Akash Patni was one of them. He was just 14. Minutes before the crash, he had been delivering lunch to his mother, Sita Ben , who ran a tea stall near the hostel gate. Hot from the afternoon heat, he must have fallen asleep on a bench, about 300 meters from where the disaster unfolded.

Sita Ben , 43, watched it all. “Suddenly,” she said, her voice shaky, “there was this horrible sound and fire spread everywhere. Everything in its path burned.” She searched for her son frantically. When she couldn’t find him, she ran around asking for help. Too late.

She herself suffered thirty percent burns while desperately searching for Akash in the flames. She is still recovering from those injuries.

Her husband, Suresh Patni , an autorickshaw driver nearby, heard the explosion. He reached the spot and people told him to go to the hospital. They sent him to the post-mortem room. That’s when his heart just sank. Lost his child.

Akash was the youngest of their five kids.

On Thursday evening, families of those who lost loved ones gathered at the crash site again. A candlelight march. It wasn't just grief they shared. There was this constant need for answers. Accountability. Closure.

One year later, and still nothing settled. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the AAIB, hasn’t released its final report. Families are left with so many unanswered questions hanging in the air.

Mike Andrews , a lawyer representing at least 120 families, told News18 about independent tests his team ran on simulators. They found some serious things. He claimed documents he accessed pointed toward possible electrical problems in the plane.

“The deployment of that Ram Air Turbine so early,” Andrews said, “it suggests there was a huge problem with the aircraft. It was deployed during takeoff.”

He said he never got the data he asked for. No information from the flight recorders or accident site videos or engine tear-down details.

Ed Pierson , from the Foundation for Aviation Safety, had raised concerns about electrical faults in older planes before. He shared his findings with the US board, but got no reply back.

“I also talked to the Indian AAIB,” Pierson admitted. “But they weren’t responsive. I don't have much faith that investigators will actually find what they need.”

CS Randhawa , president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, spoke up in Ahmedabad recently. He insisted that the Boeing 787 probably had major electrical issues causing the crash. The federation was one of the first to push back against ideas that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was responsible for it.

“Since the preliminary report came out,” Randhawa said, “we’ve kept saying this plane had serious electrical problems. The 787 has faced these issues globally things about the Ram Air Turbine , batteries, even water getting into the electronics behind the cockpit.”

He pointed to the investigation timeline too. Under the rules, the AAIB should share a draft report with everyone thirty days before the final one. Nothing has been circulated yet. It just means the investigation is still dragging on.

Randhawa warned against rushing things. “Another interim report will just cause more confusion and speculation. The investigators need the time to actually figure this out and give us a real final report.”

He mentioned that the federation, along with the captain’s father, pushed for a judicial probe under some AAIB rules. They want something concrete.

On Friday, marking the one-year anniversary of the crash, families gathered at the site again. Candlelight marches. And they still seek answers. Accountability. Closure. The grief is huge, but that demand that's what unites them now.