AHMEDABAD: In the wake of the devastating Air India AI-171 plane crash near Ahmedabad, Trupti Soni sister of deceased passenger Swapnil Soni has emerged as a fierce voice demanding justice. Her statement underscores the families’ push for truth, transparency, and accountability. With the Indian government's silence and Air India’s opacity, the grieving families are preparing for a legal battle on American soil, where stringent product liability laws may finally hold global giants like Boeing to account.
Trupti Soni’s voice cuts through the fog of official silence. “We are filing a case in America because this could be a product liability case,” she declares, eyes steeled by grief. “American laws are stringent about product liability. But before that, we need the truth and for that, we need data. We’ve had no support from the Indian government.”
Her words aren’t a plea. They are the opening salvo in a larger war one that’s rapidly shifting from Indian soil to a US courtroom.
The families of the victims in the AI-171 Air India crash are no longer waiting in silence. They demanded full access to the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Without this, they say, no investigation official or independent can be trusted. Suspicion runs deep. What if the data is filtered? What if the truth is buried under corporate interests and state complicity?
Dull echo of bureaucratic indifference
Behind their growing mistrust looms a billion-dollar question: Did the aircraft fail them?
Enter Mike Andrews, a heavyweight in aviation litigation, flown in from the US to evaluate the path forward. His track record speaks volumes he's taken on Ford, Volkswagen, and aircraft manufacturers alike. Now, he stands with over 65 victim families. “We’ve been asked to understand what happened, why it happened, and what legal avenues exist,” Andrews says, bluntly. “If the black box shows a defect say in the FADEC system or throttle control this could open the door to a product liability case against Boeing in the US.”
And that’s exactly what Trupti and others are counting on a legal terrain where one grieving family can stare down a corporate monolith.
Andrews explains the stakes clearly: “Since this aircraft was manufactured in the United States, it’s vital the victims’ families have a voice there. US law levels the field. One person can challenge a giant and win.”
But here in India, the silence from the authorities is deafening. Not a single piece of raw data has been handed over. No clarity. No commitment. Only the dull echo of bureaucratic indifference.
As the official probe drags on, the families’ patience has run out. Their move to the US courts isn’t just a legal shift it’s a moral escalation. What began as a crash is fast becoming a confrontation between truth and power.
And Trupti Soni stands at the center, transforming private loss into public resolve. Her brother’s death, like dozens of others, demands more than sympathy. It demands answers. And she’s not waiting for permission to get.