Nearly ten months after the tragic Air India AI171 crash, families of the victims have written directly to Narendra Modi, asking for clear answers. In a letter sent on Saturday, around 30 families from Gujarat urged the Prime Minister to make public the aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and black box data, saying they have the right to know what really caused the disaster.
The Boeing 787-8, which was flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed just minutes after take-off on June 12, 2025. It hit a medical college hostel building and burst into flames. The crash killed 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew members, along with 19 people on the ground. Although a preliminary report was submitted last year, families say they still don’t have clear answers, which has only added to their pain, according to a report by PTI.
“My home feels completely empty now. We don’t want money, we just want to know what happened,” Nilesh Purohit, who lost his 24-year-old son in the crash, told the news agency.
Many other families share the same feeling. They have said that if the data cannot be made public, it should at least be shared with them privately. Copies of the letter have also been sent to aviation authorities such as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as well as Bhupendra Patel, the report mentioned.
Concerns over poor communication, access issues
Apart from asking for transparency, families have also raised concerns about the difficulties they are facing. These include problems in getting back personal belongings of the victims and poor communication from officials.
Kinjal Patel, who lost her mother in the crash, said the airline’s website meant for families to find belongings is not easy to use. “There are over 25,000 items listed, but the images are unclear. It’s almost impossible to find anything,” PTI quoted her, as saying.
Digital barriers add to families’ struggles
Some families said the whole process feels stressful and insensitive, especially for those who are not comfortable using digital platforms.
“There is only one email ID, and responses take upto 15 days. Many people in villages don’t even know how to use email,” Romin Vora told the agency, who lost his mother, brother, and daughter in the tragedy.