Multiple British families have received incorrect human remains following the devastating Air India plane crash. The Boeing 787-8 jet had crashed into a residential building mere minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport last month — killing all but one passenger. Multiple people were also injured on ground alongside 19 fatalities. The flight had included 52 UK citizens.
According to the Daily Mail, at least two families have alleged that the bodies repatriated to them were misidentified. DNA testing revealed discrepancies in at least two caskets — with one holding the remains of multiple individuals. The errors came to light after a coroner tried to confirm the identity of the British victims transported from India by matching their DNA with samples given by the families.
Grieving families pose ‘serious questions’
Multiple affected families had retained a London law firm towards the beginning of July to address “serious questions” once the preliminary probe report was released. The aviation team of Keystone Law is said to be “working closely” with around 20 British families on the coronial process as well as the London lawyers appointed by Air India and its aviation insurers dealing with interim payments.
The doomed Boeing Dreamliner had crashed with 52 British nationals on board — with their families later calling for a mechanism of expert representation in the investigatory process. Keystone Law had welcomed the more “defined area of investigation” after the preliminary report focused on fuel control switches but stressed that “antiquated laws” excluded those impacted from participating. Reports quoting lawyers indicated that 12 to 13 sets of human remains were repatriated to the UK after the devastating crash.
UK air investigators ‘review’ preliminary report
The British Air Accidents Investigation Branch said in mid-July that it was reviewing the preliminary report released by Indian authorities following the crash. A 15-page preliminary investigation report into the disaster revealed fuel-control switches of the two engines moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position, within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude. In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel. The other denied having done so.
“The UK AAIB are in process of reviewing this preliminary report in detail and remains in communication with AAIB India. The UK AAIB has ‘expert’ status in the Indian safety investigation. In accordance with international protocols, release of information on the investigation rests solely with the Indian authorities,” the British agency said.