India's Hopes Dashed: Air India 787 crash victims face paltry payouts as global scrutiny mounts
Special Report :
What began as a moment of national mourning is now giving way to frustration and disbelief.
The families of 275 people killed in last month’s Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash near Ahmedabad may receive as little as $215,000 per victim, a sharp contrast to the $3 million settlements paid to each family affected by Boeing’s 737 MAX disasters.
But unlike the MAX cases – where Boeing admitted fault, paid billions in compensation, and faced criminal charges – the 787 crash is being legally framed as a case of pilot action, not corporate liability.
This singular detail may prove decisive in whether Boeing owes anything more beyond its technical support.
According to early findings from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), both fuel cutoff switches on the Dreamliner were manually activated, cutting off fuel to the engines mid-flight.
Data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) confirm the sequence, leading investigators to conclude there was no technical fault with the aircraft.
Because the action was manual-not due to system failure-Boeing is shielded under the Montreal Convention, which limits carrier liability to around $215,000 USD per passenger unless gross negligence or design flaws are proven.
“The plane didn’t fail. The pilots did,” said an official involved in the investigation. “That makes all the difference in legal terms.”
However, not all experts are convinced the case is that simple.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, one of India’s leading aviation safety experts, told NDTV that the sequence of switch activation and cockpit audio suggests the crash may have stemmed from deliberate actions in the cockpit.
“If both fuel cutoff switches were turned off in quick succession, and the crew never attempted restart procedures or issued a distress call, we have to look seriously at intent,” Ranganathan said. “This sequence is not something that happens by accident.”
His comments have been echoed across Indian aviation forums and news outlets, fueling speculation that the crash may not have been caused by a mechanical or procedural failure, but by deliberate human intervention-raising difficult questions about crew background checks and mental health protocols.
The Tata Group, which owns Air India, has pledged ?1 crore (~$117,000) in ex gratia payments and ?25 lakh (~$28,000) in interim relief to each family. But no additional fund has been announced by Boeing, unlike the $500 million victim fund it created following the MAX crashes.
Families hoping for a similar response are now grappling with the realization that legal jurisdiction and cause-of-crash classifications matter more than corporate remorse.
Indian media outlets and pilot unions have pushed back on the AAIB’s early conclusions, calling them premature and incomplete. Aviation bodies have criticized the agency for issuing findings while black box analysis is still ongoing, and for not disclosing full transcripts from the cockpit audio.
“There’s a rush to close the case before all data is analyzed independently,” said a former Air India training captain. “If this was a systems issue, Boeing would be on the hook. But if they blame the pilots, the payout shrinks dramatically. That’s the subtext everyone sees.”
Amid the growing skepticism, the investigation is now being conducted jointly by Air India, Boeing, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Technical teams from all four entities are analyzing data from the FDR and CVR to determine the root cause.
“This is the first fatal 787 crash ever,” said a U.S. aviation official. “We are reviewing this with full international rigor, regardless of early claims.”
Because the crash occurred on Indian soil, with an Indian operator and Indian passengers, families have no access to U.S. courts, where the 737 MAX cases were successfully tried.
Unless Boeing is found to have contributed to the crash through design flaws or systemic failure, there is no basis for enhanced payouts under international law.
The tragedy of the Air India 787 crash is now compounded by a growing sense of inequity. For the victims’ families, the contrast between Boeing’s past accountability and the current disclaiming of responsibility feels both unjust and deeply personal.
“They all died on Boeing planes,” said one family member of a victim. “But it seems where the plane falls-and who was flying it-determines who gets justice.”