Air India crash plunged victims' families 'into darkness'

Savdhanbhai Chowdhary lost his son and daughter-in-law in the fatal Air India crash in 2025. (ABC News: Som Patidar) Link copiedShareShare articleOne year ago, Savdhanbhai Chowdhary got a call about his son, Kamlesh Chowdhary, a call he still clearly remembers. Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing. "I got a call from my son's friend," he said. Kamlesh's friend from London asked Mr Chowdhary if he could share the details of the flight his son and daughter-in-law had taken earlier that day. The friend didn't share the real reason why he wanted that information, but Mr Chowdhary suspected something was not right. Savdhanbhai and his wife had gone to drop off the newly married couple at Ahmedabad airport for their flight to London on June 12, 2025. The elderly couple was halfway back to their village in Thavar, Bansakantha, about 200 kilometres north of Ahmedabad, when Mr Chowdhary decided to head back and see what was going on. "I could sense it in my heart something had happened," he said. He later found out that the plane had crashed moments after take-off. The Air India plane crash on June 12, 2025, claimed 260 lives. (ABC News: Som Patidar) "I don't know how that day passed, how we went to the hospital, how things unfolded, I can only recall bits and pieces," he said, wiping tears as he recalled the events of one year ago. All passengers, except one, were killed in the crash. "We only had two sons in our family, no girls, so when [Dhapuben] came into our family, she became a part of the family as our daughter, not our daughter-in-law," he said. Kamlesh and Dhapuben had recently got married and were headed to London to start their new life together. "It was a grand wedding," recalled Mr Chowdhary. Kamlesh had moved to London to study some years back, was settled there, and had come for his wedding, arranged by the family. Newly married couple Kamlesh and Dhapuben Chowdhary's photographs are on the wall of the Chowdhary home. (ABC News: Som Patidar) Their pictures hang in the open verandah of the family home. On the side are chillies Mr Chowdhary had harvested that morning. Kamlesh was the first from this tiny village in Western India who had gone overseas for higher education. Despite not having enough money Mr Chowdhary, a cattle farmer, had taken a loan and worked hard to ensure he could send his son to school and get him the best education possible. "Our lives were bright … but then this happened, and our lives that had such sunshine just ended," he said. A screenshot of the last phone call Kamlesh and Dhapuben Chowdhary made to their family. (Supplied) As the head of the family, Mr Chowdhary said he felt pressure to support and uplift his wife and younger son. "If I want to cry, I do so alone at night," he said, adding that he went into the bathroom to cry "to hide" his pain. "Sometimes I think what is the purpose of living? We live and work for our children, and then suddenly everything is gone." One thing that doesn't let the Chowdharys move on is the lack of answers about what led to Air India flight 171 dropping from the sky that day. "There is no justice until the report is out," Mr Chowdhary said. A preliminary report of the investigation into the crash was released in July last year. It identified that both of the 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position, starving the engines of fuel and triggering total power loss. In the weeks since the deadly Air India crash, questions have swirled around exactly what happened. Finally, there are some answers. But beyond that, very limited information is available, and a full transcript of the black box recordings of the plane was never released. "We want a fair investigation, we demand the government release the data of the black box," Mr Chowdhary said. Air crash investigations are complex and often take months, and under international aviation rules, final reports are generally expected within a year. But for the families, a year without answers is hard to digest. In a statement to the ABC, Boeing did not answer the questions it was asked and instead deferred "to India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to provide information". The ABC contacted AAIB multiple times for a statement and an interview. At the time of publication, no response was received. A total of 260 people died in the crash. There were 241 passengers and on-board staff, as well as 19 people who were killed on the ground as the plane crashed into BMJ Medical College's hostel. Hetalben Prajapati's husband, Mahesh Jirawala, was among the 19 people who lost their lives on the ground. Hetalben Prajapati was unaware her husband's body had been found in the Air India crash. (ABC News: Som Patidar) Mr Jirawala, a filmmaker by profession, was driving near the college in Ahmedabad when the plane dropped out of the sky. "I was at the school, and I call

Air India crash plunged victims' families 'into darkness'

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Air India crash plunged victims' families 'into darkness'

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