The only British survivor of the June Air India crash is unlikely to return to the United Kingdom because he is too frightened to fly, relatives said, as bereaved families press for records and answers about the disaster that killed 260 people.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a Leicester businessman, crawled from his seat and escaped the wreckage with facial cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 crashed seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad bound for Gatwick. His wife and four-year-old son flew to India to help him recuperate but have since returned to the UK. Family members said Ramesh remained deeply traumatised and was receiving counselling and treatment in India.
Officials have said 242 people were aboard the aircraft; 241 on board and 19 people on the ground were killed, bringing the toll to 260. Fifty-two of those killed on the plane were British. Ramesh’s brother Ajay, 35, died in the crash.
An interim report from India’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said that seconds after takeoff the plane’s fuel-control switches were in the “cut-off” position, depriving the engines of fuel. Audio from the cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the co-pilot why the fuel supply had been cut off; the co-pilot replied that he had not done so, the report said. With insufficient time to restart an engine, the aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of Ahmedabad.
Relatives of British victims have told the Foreign Office they feel "abandoned" by British and Indian authorities after mistakes in handling remains. Families of Ashok and Shobhana Patel and of Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, who died with his husband Jamie, say remains were mixed up or, in one case, sent incorrectly to the wrong family. They say letters to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a former foreign secretary have gone unanswered and have urged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to probe the handling of remains.
A group of bereaved families has launched High Court proceedings against Air India seeking the release of maintenance records and the pilots' medical and training files. Separately, a US law firm representing some relatives has said an electrical failure following a water leak could have caused the crash rather than pilot error. Mike Andrews of the Beasley Allen law firm said the US Federal Aviation Administration had flagged reports of water leaks on 787s related to improperly installed waterline couplings a month before the disaster, allowing water to reach electronics bays under the cabin floor. Andrews also said Ramesh reported lights flickering on the aircraft during the flight.
Boeing declined to comment on the allegations. Indian investigators continue to examine technical and human factors as part of the ongoing probe, and British authorities have been asked to assist with inquiries related to British passengers and victims.
Families have also criticised communication from both the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Indian authorities over the repatriation and identification of remains. They say some were returned in caskets containing the remains of more than one person and that they have not received formal apologies. Legal action and requests for detailed records aim to clarify maintenance history, potential technical defects and the sequence of events that led to the loss of fuel supply.
Ramesh’s family said he had been receiving treatment in India and that they did not expect him to return to their home in Leicester or to London because of his fear of flying. Investigators and lawyers said that civil and criminal inquiries and civil litigation could take months or years as they seek to establish causes and responsibility.
The interim investigative findings and ongoing legal challenges have focused attention on aircraft systems, maintenance practices and procedural checks. Authorities in India, the United Kingdom and the United States have been asked to provide documentation and technical expertise as the probe continues and families pursue answers in court.