Ahmedabad plane crash: Aviation attorney from US seeks flight recorder data, meets kin of victims
Ahmedabad.(PTI): Mike Andrews, a US aviation attorney representing at least 130 families who lost their kin in the June 12 Ahmedabad Air India plane crash, has urged the Union government to release the flight recorder data, which will allow for transparency and help families consider legal options.
Andrews referred to a recent BBC interview with the sole survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh. He said the flickering lights inside the plane, which turned green just before the crash, suggest the main electrical system switched to an emergency or backup system for unknown reasons.
Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after it took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12 and burst into flames, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard and 19 individuals on the ground.
Vishwas Kumar Ramesh was the lone passenger who survived.
"I appeal to the Indian government to release the FDR (Flight Data Recorder) data so that our experts can conduct an independent evaluation. I think the most important thing these families can have is transparency," Andrews told PTI here on Monday during his second visit to Gujarat since the plane crash.
He had visited Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat in August and met kin of some of the victims during his first visit.
"Currently, we represent over 130 families from India and the United Kingdom. I am once again here in Gujarat to meet some of these kin. Legal options, such as a product liability suit to be filed in the US, are based on the data we get and what investigations reveal," said the aviation attorney of the US-based law firm Beasley Allen.
In the absence of official data, Andrews said he was forced to collect relevant information from other sources, such as investigative news articles and interviews with the sole survivor.
"Vishwas Kumar told the BBC that the lights inside the plane flickered off and on and turned green just prior to the crash.
"That is an indication of an electrical problem on the plane. A likely switching over from the primary electrical system to the backup, an emergency system that causes the emergency green lights to come on," he said.
It is crucial to understand why the system switched to emergency mode and the likely consequences, and whether water leakage led to this disruption and eventual crash, Andrews said.
"We know that as early as 2016, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration were documenting water leaks in the planes in areas that can affect the electrical systems. They have these leaking water couplings that can leak into areas of computer equipment of electric equipment.
"So we want to know if that's what happened, because we know that it is a problem. We know that our plane appears to have exhibited electrical issues. We need to know the relationship between those two, and that's why the flight data recorder is so important, so that we know what happened on the plane," he said.
On the reports of Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visiting the US this month to discuss FDR and cockpit voice recorder data with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the US, Andrews said the meeting may revolve around "some technical questions AAIB may have found in the data and wanted to discuss with NTSB".
To get answers from US authorities about the crash, Andrews filed an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act, which is similar to India's Right to Information Act.
"I have filed that request to the Federal Aviation Administration in the US to obtain a copy of whatever investigation they are doing from their side. I did that because our understanding is that AAIB may have shared some information with FAA," he said.
Andrews will travel to Anand, Vadodara, and Mumbai to meet the families who have agreed to pursue the case.
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PM Modi shifts to 'Bankim babu' as TMC objects to 'Bankim da' reference
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the author of Vande Mataram, as 'Bankim da' was objected to by the Trinamool Congress on Monday, prompting him to add the more respectful suffix 'babu' to the legendary poet's name.
Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy, during the debate on 150 years of national song Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, asked the prime minister to use the suffix 'babu' while referring to Chatterjee.
"I will say Bankim Babu. Thank you, I respect your sentiments," the prime minister said.
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In a lighter vein, Modi quickly asked whether he could still refer to Roy as 'dada'.
"I can call you dada, right? Or you have an objection to that, too," the prime minister said.
Earlier, the prime minister had asked about Roy's well-being when the Trinamool Congress member had made some remarks at the start of the debate.
Roy is the fifth term Lok Sabha member from Dum Dum constituency in West Bengal.
