The families of four passengers who perished in the Air India Flight 171 crash in June have filed a lawsuit in Delaware Superior Court against Boeing and Honeywell, alleging negligence and a defective fuel cutoff switch as the cause of the accident that killed 260 people.
Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route to London from Ahmedabad, crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12, 2025. The crash resulted in the deaths of 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground; one passenger survived.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday, holds Boeing, which installed the switch, and Honeywell, which manufactured it, responsible for the accident. The plaintiffs argue that the locking mechanism for the fuel cutoff switch on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner could be inadvertently disengaged or missing, leading to a loss of fuel supply and thrust needed for takeoff. They claim that Boeing and Honeywell were aware of this risk, particularly after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a caution in 2018 regarding disengaged locking mechanisms on several Boeing aircraft.
The lawsuit also alleges that the placement of the fuel cutoff switches directly behind the thrust levers increased the likelihood of accidental activation. According to the complaint, "By putting the switch directly behind thrust levers, Boeing effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff". The complaint further stated, "What did Honeywell and Boeing do to prevent the inevitable catastrophe? Nothing".
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of Kantaben Dhirubhai Paghadal, Naavya Chirag Paghadal, Kuberbhai Patel, and Babiben Patel, who were among the 229 passengers killed. The plaintiffs are citizens of and reside in either India or Britain. This is believed to be the first lawsuit filed in the United States related to the crash.
A preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in July indicated confusion in the cockpit before the crash. The report revealed that both fuel control switches, critical for regulating engine fuel flow, moved to the "cutoff" position seconds after takeoff, abruptly cutting off fuel to the engines. Although the switches were moved back to "run" within 10 seconds, the engines did not regain thrust in time. The AAIB preliminary investigation also stated that Air India had not conducted suggested inspections and that maintenance records showed the throttle control module, where the fuel switches are, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.
Conflicting with the plaintiff's claims, the US FAA expressed a "high level of confidence" that a mechanical problem or inadvertent movement of fuel control components were not to blame. Furthermore, aviation safety experts told Reuters that the fuel switches could not be accidentally flipped based on their location and design. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that these switches do not appear to have caused the crash.
Boeing incurred more than $20 billion in legal and other costs from two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. That best-selling plane was grounded for 20 months.
Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, declined to comment. Honeywell, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
