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Boeing whistleblower raises new theory over Air India crash as he reveals 'chaotic and dangerous manufacturing' at air giant's factories
A new theory over the devastating Air India crash, where all 242 passengers but one were killed, as a Boeing whistleblower makes claims about 'chaotic and dangerous manufacturing' at factories.
Ed Pierson, a former high-level Boeing manager who testified at the US Congress, said it was 'possible' safety concerns raised by himself and others in 2019 could have affected the Gatwick-bound aircraft.
At the time, his fellow whistleblower Sam Saklephour voiced concerns about the air giant's manufacturing, claiming staff would force parts to fit together to close gaps. Boeing previously refuted these claims.
When asked if these safety concerns could have affected the doomed Air India fight, which is believed to have claimed the lives of 279 people so far, Mr Pierson said: 'It is possible.
'Because the problems he identified that's how the plane were being built for a long time so the testimony that he gave and I gave that day all proceeded this India accident.'
Mr Pierson, who previously spoke of manufacturing concerns of the company's 737 Max aircraft told NDTV production facilities were 'chaotic and dangerous'.
It comes as the first words the sole survivor, Viswash Kumar Ramesh, 40, told his his father after his brother was killed on the Gatwick-bound aircraft were revealed.
The British national had been returning after a business trip in India with his brother Ajay Kumar, 35, when they boarded the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Thursday.
A video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
In what has been described as a miracle, Viswash, who was seated in 11A survived the disaster, which is said to be one of the worst in India's aviation history.
Among the victims believed to be dead, which includes 53 British nationals, is the 40-year-old's brother Ajay, who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion.
Terrifying CCTV footage showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner careen to the ground shortly after take off in the densely populated Meghani area of the city at around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST).
UK investigators with experience in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data, have arrived in the south Asian country in the wake of the Air India.
Detailing the moments after the crash, Viswash described seeing several passengers and crew lose their lives as parts of the plane were scattered around the site.
He managed to escape after his side of the plane fell onto the ground of a floor building, forcing his way out of the plane, past a broken door before being assisted by locals and taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Still clutching his boarding pass at the hospital, he called his father in the aftermath of the tragedy. His brother Nyan Kumar Ramesh told Sky News: 'He video called my dad as he crashed and said, 'Oh the plane's crashed. I don't know where my brother is.
'I don't see any other passengers. I don't know how I'm alive, how I exited the plane'.'
Devastatingly, injured Viswash has been begging from his hospital bed: 'Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.'
His cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC, how Viswash has a wife and 'little boy' at home: adding: 'He only said that he's fine, nothing else. [We are] happy that he's OK, but we're still upset about the other brother.'
Previously said of his younger cousin's, Ajay's death: 'I'm feeling absolutely upset. He's not just my cousin, he's also one of my best friends as well.
'They were sitting next to eachother, but we don't know what happened to [Ajay Kumar]. We're not doing well. We're all upset.'
On Thursday, relatives gathered at the family's terraced home in Leicester to comfort the brothers' mother who is said to be too grief-stricken to speak.
'It's a miracle at least one of them survived,' younger brother Nayan said.
'He said his plane had crashed and he couldn't find anyone, we couldn't believe it. There was blood running down his face.
The tragedy's death toll has since increased to 279 dead, according to a senior Indian police source, making it one of the deadliest plane disasters of the 21st century.
This is a further increase on an earlier figure of 265 victims, which includes those on the plane and grounds.
The siblings had been a few seats apart onboard the plane, with survivor Viswash sat at 11A and his younger brother positioned at 11J on the other side of the aisle
Air India said there were 242 people on board the London-bound flight, with only one survivor, with at least 38 people killed on the ground when the plane smashed into residential buildings.
The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed.
The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced on Friday night that four of its investigators had arrived in India and have expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data.
The 'release of information on the investigation rests solely with the Indian authorities', it added.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.
MailOnline previously revealed the British victims were Akeel Nanawaba, Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter Sarah, 4, Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, Javed Ali Syed, his wife and two children, Raxa Modha, her grandson Rudra and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar, and Ajay Kumar Ramesh, the brother of the tragedy's only survivor.
Relatives of Harrods ambassador Mariam Ali Syed, 35, her husband Javed - a manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel - have spoken out since the tragedy.
The couple's children Zayn, five, and Amani, four, are believed to be the youngest named victims of the crash so far.
Mrs Ali Syed's sister-in-law, Yasmine Hassan, 45, broke down while confirming the children's names, and pleaded with officials to offer more support to the families of the 53 British citizens onboard the flight.
'They are so small, they are five and four. And it's just thinking how scared they must have been,' she told the Telegraph.
'We're not angry about the lack of answers [from UK government officials] – we understand that takes time.
'We're angry because no one has reached out to offer support or even ask if we need anything. These are British citizens.'
Adam Taju, 72, and his wife Hasina, 70, were flying back to the UK with their son-in-law Altafhusen Patel, 51, when they lost their lives in the tragedy,
The four had been spending time with Mr Taju's 96-year-old father in India to celebrate Eid, their son Altaf Taju told MailOnline.
'He's the one they wanted to see because he's 96 and it's very hot in India. No one goes to India this time of year but they said 'We don't know how long he's going to be around, let's go and celebrate Eid.'
Altaf added: 'I'm the eldest person in the family now. I'm here with my sisters. I'm flying out with my two sisters. The other one can't make it as she's a cancer patient.
Adam was a retired machinist who'd worked making leather coats and Hasina had been a housewife.
The couple, who had lived in a terraced property in Ilford since the 1970s, had four children, a boy and three girls. One of their daughters who lives has since flown back to Redbridge to be with family.
Pictures have been published on local media of crew members who were on board the Air India flight
Adam's son, Altaf Taju, told the Mail the family hoped to be flying out to India by Sunday, so they could conduct the burials next week.
Mr Taju, who is from Blackburn, said he'd travelled down to London to support his sister Shamim who was married to Altafhusen Patel.
Mr Taju said: 'I'm okay. I'm the eldest son of the family. My uncle rang me to tell me what had happened.
'We've lost three members of my family and my brother in law who's married to my sister. My sister is alone here.'
Explaining how burials of his family members will take place in their respective home villages, his mother and father in Sansrod, Gujarat, and his brother-in-law in Bharuch, Mr Taju called for the release of the bodies.
'We need to get the release of the bodies and bring them home and start mourning in the Islamic way, whatever is left of them,' he said.
'I have told them to wait for us, until we get there, because I want to put them down in the grave.'
Friend and neighbour Iqbal Hussain, 44, who has known Adam and Hasina since he was a child, described them as a 'smiling' and 'loving family'.
'It's a sad thing. They were happy when they left [to go to India]. They were going on holiday to celebrate Eid,' he said.
'They were part of the Neighbourhood Watch group. We're all devastated.
'Anything they needed we'd help them with. They weren't very IT savvy and I used to help them out,' the IT manager added: 'We grew up with their children. I was friends with Afia, their youngest daughter.'
Recalling the moment his local councillor who's from the Gujarat community informed him of the plane crash, as well as Adam and Hasina being on board, Mr Hussain said: ''I thought 'That cannot be true'.
'I called the youngest daughter [Afia]. She was crying. She didn't say much. All she said was 'Say prayers for my parents'. She was hoping they were okay and alive.'
Councillor Salim Patel described Adam as 'a wonderful man, a community man', who was 'always out and about supporting communities'.
'He will be very missed,' he said: 'It will take a very long time for this community to accept he's not there. It's a great loss, to lose him as a human being.
'Whatever the community needed he would stand up with the community, whether it was to help campaign against fly-tipping or help people in need during Covid.
Adam was described as 'a wonderful man, a community man', who was 'always out and about supporting communities'.
Among those believed to have died is Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, left, and First Officer Clive Kunder, right
'Whenever I needed his support, he would be there.
'He was a kind and humble gentleman. There are no words to describe how we are going to miss him. I've known him for nearly 30 years.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call moments before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground.
Investigators have also since recovered a black box recorder on Friday from the crash site, with forensic teams still looking for the second.
US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.
It comes as an aviation expert believes the co-pilot on Air India flight AI171 pulled the plane's wing flaps instead of retracting the landing gear, causing the plane to crash.
Commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and close calls, gave his theory on the incident which killed 241 people on board.
The London -bound 787 Dreamliner began losing height moments after take-off and crashed in a fireball over a residential area in the Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Steve said he suspected there had been an exceptionally simple error in the cockpit when the co-pilot was asked to retract the landing gear, with devastating consequences.
He said: 'Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time.
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025
Rescuers work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June12, 2025
The tail of the Dreamliner plane that crashed, hitting buildings in a residential area
Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside
Parts of the jet appeared to have smashed into the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital
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Expert's theory on simple mistake he thinks Air India co-pilot made that caused crash and killed 265
'I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying.'
Steve said that the flaps being raised would cause the flight to lose airspeed and altitude quickly, something he thinks the pilot would have struggled to control.
He explained his theory by saying the 787's composite wings would normally bend during take off as lift forces take it into the air.
But the Air India plane appears to show no such bending, amid widespread speculation the flaps which help lift the plane off had accidentally been retracted.
It remains unclear what caused Thursday's tragedy, with mechanical failure or pilot error among the possible causes that investigators will now work to identify.
Among those believed to have died is Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot operating the Boeing 787.
Mr Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, was named as the pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
First Officer Clive Kunder, from Mumbai and who was co-piloting, had logged 1,100 of flying hours and completed his training at the Florida-based Paris Air Flight School.
King Charles III and other members of the royal family will wear black armbands and there will be a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorates those who died in this week's Air India plane crash.
Charles requested the symbolic moves 'as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,' Buckingham Palace said.
