Gujarat: Son of AI-171 plane crash victim moves US Federal Court against Boeing

AHMEDABAD: Hir Prajapati, who lost his mother, Kalpana Ben Prajapati, in the AI-171 plane crash, has moved to the US Federal Court against Boeing, expecting speedy justice.

While speaking on  Tuesday, Prajapati said that they have hired lawyer Mike Andrews to represent them.

He said, “We have hired Mike Andrews. We expect the raw details of information from the black-box to come before us at the earliest so that we can make further decisions regarding the next course of steps, along with our lawyer. In India, trials get dragged out for years. We are fighting the case in the US so that a decision is pronounced early.”

Hir Prajapati expressed gratitude towards the Indian government, police and doctors for helping the family.

“We believe we will get justice…When the incident happened, the government helped us a lot. The police also helped us. We are thankful to the doctors too, who handed over the bodies to us after a swift DNA test,” he said.

He added that he had initially scheduled a flight for June 11 for her mother but changed it to June 12 at her request.

#WATCH | 12th June Air India plane crash: Hir Prajapati who lost his mother – Kalpana Ben Prajapati, in the crash has moved US Federal Court against Boeing.

He says, “We have hired Mike Andrews. We expect the raw details of information from the black-box to come before us at the… pic.twitter.com/dhkDnKIX8P

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025

“My mother, Kalpana Ben Prajapati, died in the accident…I had initially booked a June 9 flight for her, but she had a fast and she told me that she cannot travel that day. So, I then rescheduled it to June 11. But she told me that she doesn’t want to travel on an odd date. So, I finally booked a ticket for June 12,” Prajapati said.

Following a candle march by the families of the victims of the crash, Mike Andrews, lead lawyer, representing over 65 victim families, said that the families are searching for answers.

Andrews said, “Today marks the two-month anniversary of this tragedy. It has been a very difficult day for everyone involved. The families organised a candlelight vigil to stand in remembrance. We are thankful and grateful to have been invited to come and attend…There are no words to think of the destruction…The families are back now, searching for answers.”

On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, crashed soon after it took off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. (ANI)