Air India may potentially face lawsuits from UK and US families of the Ahmedabad crash victims, as an investigation into the cause of the tragedy is currently awaited.
A legal team comprising of UK-based Keystone Law and US-based Wisner Law Firm will lead the lawsuits against Air India and aircraft manufacturer Boeing, a Financial Express article said, citing an Economic Times report.
According to the legal team, international laws like the Montreal Convention permitted the UK and US families of crash victims to pursue lawsuits.
This applies either if the airline operated in the countries of origin of the plaintiffs, or if they had connections there. The law also states that airlines can be held fully responsible for passenger deaths or injuries, with no limit on how much they might have to pay, the report said.
The report added that the planned lawsuits would be separate from early settlement offers—financial or otherwise—made by Air India's insurer, Tata AIG, explained Keystone's James Healy-Pratt, who is closely involved in the litigation process.
Healy-Pratt added that if the families are to go forward with the lawsuits, Boeing would be tried in the US, while Air India would be tried at the High Court in London.
The AAIB investigation in India
Following its investigation of the AI 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release a preliminary probe report by July 11, an NDTV report said, citing official sources.
This is in keeping with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, which mandated that a preliminary report was to be filed within 30 days of the crash.
As per an official tally from the Gujarat Health Department, 241 people and 34 people in the vicinity of the crash site—275 in total—died after the flight failed to attain enough thrust to continue lift-off, crashing into a medical college hostel just a few second later.
ALSO READ | Ahmedabad Air India crash: Sabotage angle is also being probed, says minister
Just days ago, Murlidhar Mohol, junior minister for Civil Aviation, had told NDTV that all angles were being investigated in the crash, including sabotage.
"It was an unfortunate incident. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun a full investigation into it ... It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footage is being reviewed and all angles are being assessed ... several agencies are working on it," he had said.
The completed probe report is expected to be released roughly two months later.