Latest news with #BeasleyAllen
News18
6 hours ago
- Business
- News18
'If Ratan Tata Was Alive': US Lawyer Slams Air India Over Delay In Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aid
Last Updated: US Attorney highlighted the late Ratan Tata's legacy of compassion, suggesting his presence could have prevented such delays in compensation faced by the grieving families. Ratan Tata's legacy of compassion,Noted US Attorney, Mike Andrews, representing over 65 families affected by the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash, slammed Air India for delay in compensation for the victims' families. He noted that if former Chairperson of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, had been alive such 'bureaucratic process" would not have existed. Andrews spoke to ANI on Sunday and highlighted that Ratan Tata's work ethics and humbleness could have prevented such obstacles faced by the grieving families. 'Even in the US, we know who Ratan Tata was. We know a little bit in the US about his work ethic and his focus on being humble and taking care of his employees and so we know that if he were here today, we don't believe employees and victims and people who were on the aeroplane and on the ground would be subjected to a bureaucratic process in which they're delayed payment," he said. US lawyer further cited case of one of the families where a bedridden elderly woman, dependent on her son who was killed in the crash, is waiting for the compensation to meet her medical needs. 'We met with one family, the elderly mother is bedridden, and she was depending upon her son to provide income to pay for her health care. He is now deceased. They have not received payment. What are they supposed to do? They are now left at the mercy of the world in determining how she is supposed to go on when the person who was helping provide for her was killed through no fault of his own," Andrews told ANI. Over 65 families filed a petition in the US Federal Court against Air India and Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, through a United States-based law firm Beasley Allen. Mike Andrews, the aviation attorney of Beasley Allen, took up the case and visited the crash site in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad. On July 26, Air India released Rs 25 lakh in interim compensation payments to the families of 147 of the 229 passengers who lost their lives in the crash and 19 others who lost their lives on the ground. On June 12, Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, crashed shortly after it took off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
US law firm to move Gujarat court in Air India plane crash case to seek Cockpit Voice Recorder, Flight Data Recorder data
D Michael Andrews (Mike), Principal Attorney and aviation accident lawyer from a prominent US-based law firm — Beasley Allen — who is representing at least 65 families of the victims of the London Gatwick-bound Air India 171 crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 on board and 19 on the ground on June 12, arrived in Surat on Saturday, from where he headed to Diu to meet the lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. Andrews said that his law firm will file a petition in a Gujarat court to get a detailed copy of the data of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). 'Our law firm's expert team will analyse it (the data)… to file a case against Boeing in US federal court,' Andrews said. Upon his arrival, Andrews told The Indian Express: 'Today (Saturday), I met some of the family members of Ahmedabad plane crash victims and (later) will fly from Surat to Diu as I am curious to meet the lone survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.' A total of 242 passengers were on board the Air India Boeing flight, which crashed within seconds after taking off from Runway 23 of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The crash saw only one survivor, British citizen from Diu Viswash Kumar Ramesh, while the victims included former chief minister Vijay Rupani. Andrews who has earlier represented families of aviation disaster victims, including victims of the 2019 crash of the Ethiopian Airlines-run Boeing 737 MAX flight 302 that killed all 149 passengers and eight crew members, had been contacted by the kin of Ahmedabad plane crash victims to represent them in the legal proceedings. Earlier on Friday, he met some of the victim's families and assured them of 'all possible help.' Andrews who has been to the crash site at Meghaninagar during an earlier visit to Ahmedabad said: 'The Air India 171 crash, along with the 737 MAX disasters, must be treated as calls for reform — to restore independent oversight, prioritise passenger safety, and rebuild global trust in aviation standards.' This will be Beasley Allen and Mike's first case in India. Terming the sharing of the wrong mortal remains with the family members as 'truly tragic', Andrews said, 'It is truly tragic…the stories I read in the media about the wrong remains being handed to the families of the victims in the UK. We have not talked to such families, nor have they approached us. I don't know how such a thing has happened'. 'This issue leads to many questions. The families have the right to know what happened. They want to understand it from the beginning… like how the bodies were handled, collected, identified and processed and, who made the decision to send them to the UK,' he said. 'In my 20 years of experience fighting aviation litigation cases, I don't remember any case where wrong remains were handed over to the families,' he added. Andrews further added, 'We have met many families who wanted to know exactly what had happened, and who should be held accountable. We have planned to file a petition in a Gujarat court to get the copies of the CVR and the FDR, collected by the investigation agencies of the Government of India. FDR will tell us 'what' happened in the plane and the CVR will tell us 'why'. The data will throw light on the sounds in the cockpit, the voices, the switches, the beeps, the sirens, the alarms and other things. Our law firm has experts …in terms of computer analysis, animation and reconstruction, hydraulic and selective engineers and pilots. The expert team will piece together all the information and understand what happened in the cockpit'. 'We can also know if the crash was caused due to a human error or if the systems in the plane were responsible… Right now, we don't know that. These two things together will give us a clear picture of what actually happened,' he said. He added, 'We are also in contact with legal firms in the UK, to assist us in the Montreal Convention Claims. A team from the Air Accident Investigation Branch of the UK had earlier come down to Ahmedabad and probed. We will also try to gather information from them. We feel that the information obtained from them will be helpful to us.' The Montreal Convention establishes liability of the airline in the case of death or injury to passengers, as well as in cases of delay, damage or loss of baggage. Talking about the lone survivor, Vishwash, Andrews said, 'I am curious to meet him. We have come to know that he lost his brother in the same incident. The family would be in great pain and worried… Apart from his family, we are also planning to meet families of other victims of Diu, who are presently available.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
US law firm to represent 65 families in AI crash probe
Vadodara: Prominent US-based law firm Beasley Allen will represent at least 65 families from India and the US whose relatives died in the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad. The law firm's aviation attorney and the lead lawyer for the AI-171 crash, Mike Andrews, is on a visit to India to meet families. He visited the plane crash site in Ahmedabad. Talking to media persons, Andrews said that the families he met in the UK and India expressed a burning desire for answers, transparency, and information. Andrews said that the legal options available to the family will primarily be based on what data shows and what the investigation reveals. "We visited the crash site and spoke with some of the individuals who were there. We were able to take some photographs and get a feeling of the size of the scene," said Andrews. The Boeing 787-8 plane en route to London from Ahmedabad crashed into a medical hostel shortly after take-off, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard and 19 on the ground. Andrews said that the data will give them an idea of which entity may or may not be responsible for the crash. He added that if Boeing is found to be responsible for this crash, the cases will be filed in the Federal court in the US. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Can Mental Illness be the Key to Their Creativity? Undo When asked about reports of a pilot error being responsible for the incident, Andrews said that more often than not, pilots who are deceased are the ones who are blamed. He added that in other incidents where the planes landed safely, the pilots were not blamed because those pilots can still speak for themselves. Andrews said that previous crashes taught us that the rush to reach a judgement on any crash is premature and speculative. "We need to wait to get all of the data," he said. After Ahmedabad and Vadodara, Andrews was scheduled to visit Surat and Diu. From Diu, he was expected to return to Ahmedabad and then to London. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
US law firm to represent 65 families who lost kin in Air India crash; preliminary report creates confusion, says lawyer
Beasley Allen, a prominent US-based law firm, will represent at least 65 families of the victims of the London Gatwick-bound Air India 171 crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 on board and 19 on the ground on June 12, Mike Andrews, Principal Attorney from the firm, told The Indian Express. Andrews, who is already in Gujarat and was in Surat when The Indian Express spoke to him, said the preliminary report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the crash did not share the full cockpit voice recorder data, which 'creates confusion and unfairly blames the pilots'. He said systems in 'such automated aircraft' are complex and 'could be activated by computer commands'. In the past, Andrews had represented families of aviation disaster victims, including victims of the 2019 crash of the Ethiopian Airlines-run Boeing 737 MAX flight 302 that killed all 149 passengers and eight crew members. In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express Friday, Andrews who has been to the crash site at Meghaninagar during an earlier visit to Ahmedabad, said that the priority would be to call for transparency 'and release of the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).' Andrews said, 'We are also calling for the documents and are currently researching the necessary steps to file a petition (to get them released).' The 15-page report, released on the night of July 11, stated that the two engine fuel control switches onboard transitioned from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position within a second of each other, moments after lift-off. One of the two pilots is recorded as asking the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded by saying he did not. The crash saw only one survivor, British citizen from Diu Viswash Kumar Ramesh, while the victims included former chief minister Vijay Rupani. Referring to the video of the crash shot by an Ahmedabad teenager, Andews said, 'It seems obvious that the plane appears to be normal during the taxi and take-off procedure; something begins to go wrong immediately after takeoff… The question that we have is — when did the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) deploy and why did it deploy at that point? Because the plane obviously begins to lose thrust, power and altitude almost immediately after takeoff. So the question becomes — why did that occur?' The RAT deploys in a Boeing 787 automatically when there is a major system failure and it is designed to provide power in emergency situations. On precedents where such FDR and CDR data have been released in the cases that he has handled in the past, Andrews said, 'Typically, any data that is released under those circumstances occurs during the litigation, and it's generally not made available to the public. But, in certain instances, it can be released to the attorneys and experts who are handling those cases.' He confirmed that such data was available in the Ethiopian Airlines crash case. He said it helped determine what happened, and was used by the parties concerned. 'This is important to cite because that (Ethiopian Airlines crash) was very similar to this (AI 171). Like, not the problem with the aircraft, but in the sense that, for example, everyone on board that flight lost their lives. Also similar in the sense that it was also Boeing and also a commercial flight. And it involved uncommanded or erroneous actions by an automated computer system,' Andrews said. 'If it was determined that the aircraft or its components are defective, then we would make preparations to file individual cases in the United States against Boeing and/or which component part manufacturers may be at fault,' he added. Describing his earlier visit to the crash site, he termed it as a 'very large crash scene', which was 'cleaned up' by the time he was there. He said he met some of the families in Ahmedabad who 'had reached out' to him. 'We also met with people who were at the scene. We met with people who were there on the ground including those who were present in the (medical) college area,' he told The Indian Express. 'But when you are there, you certainly feel the sense of magnitude and sense of loss from what happened,' he added. Andrews said he was currently focussing 'primarily (on) passengers on the aircraft' and people who were on the ground, and not representing crew members. He reiterated that the release of data to understand exactly what happened, how and why was his focus. When asked what would happen to the litigation in case the final report concludes it was pilot error, Andrews said, 'Obviously, we would first want to see what the basis of that report would be, and whether or not all of the technical data have been considered again. That's why it's so important for us to see that raw data so that our experts can also make their own conclusions. We want to make sure that any expert report that is issued includes all of the potential data and information that should be considered, but if, in the end, it is determined to be solely pilot error, then the potential exists for Montreal Convention (which establishes liability on the airlines) claims against Air India.' Ahmedabad-based entrepreneur Trupti Soni, who is among those who has signed on Beasley Allen to represent their case, told The Indian Express, 'As discussed with the law firm, first we would be filing a case against Boeing in the US courts, which will be followed by a case against Air India.' Trupti lost her three family members – brother Swapnil, 45, and his wife Yoga, 44, and her sister-in-law Alpa, 55 – in the crash.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Air India AI171 plane crash victims' families to file suit in US? Lawyer Mike Andrews says ‘because the plane…'
Air India plane crash: US based law firm Beasley Allen's lead lawyer Mike Andrews said that since the aircraft involved in the Ahmedabad plane crash, a Boeing Dreamliner, was manufactured in the United States, the 'families, the victims, have a voice in those claims in the US.' 'Potential legal options will depend on what the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder reveal in terms of what happened here,' said Andrews, reported ANI. Families of 65 victims of the deadly Air India Flight AI-171's deadly crash, which killed a total of 241 people on bord, have hired Beasley Allen, the same team that fought for families in the Boeing 737 MAX tragedies, to take on Boeing and Air India in court, reported Hindustan Times. According to Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s report on the Air India plane crash, voice recordings from the cockpit revealed confusion in fuel cutoff, with a MAYDAY distress call issued moments before the crash. Mike Andrews said that suppose 'flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder indicate that there is a defect with the aircraft, for example FADEC system or the throttle control malfunctioning,' then the options are to bring a defective product or a product liability claim Beasley Allen rose to prominence through its work on the Boeing 737 MAX cases, which stemmed from two deadly crashes—Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in Ethiopia—that claimed 346 lives between 2018 and 2019. In 2021, Boeing agreed to a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution settlement, which included a $243.6 million criminal fine, $1.77 billion in payments to airlines, and $500 million for victims' families, as per records by US Department of Justice. Investigations revealed that Boeing's retrofitting of the 737 design to compete with Airbus led to significant design flaws, including the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
