Suit Accuses Companies of Product Defect and Negligence

Three months after 260 people were killed in an Air India 787-8 crash, families of four victims have filed what will likely be the first of many lawsuits against both Boeing and Honeywell. They accuse the manufacturers of product defects and negligence, referencing an alleged issue with the fuel cutoff switch that could have caused the plane to lose power on takeoff.

The complaint says that the switches were defectively designed and poorly placed. According to flight data, both switches moved from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” just three seconds after liftoff, shutting down fuel supply to the aircraft’s engines. Pilots attempted to recover, but did not have enough time or altitude to restart. The Dreamliner crashed less than a mile from the runway, striking multiple buildings on its way down.

The crash leveled portions of a hostel near the airport, where doctors and students lived. Though authorities initially reported no survivors, one passenger was later pulled from the wreckage alive. Witnesses described heavy smoke and debris spread across the residential neighborhood.

In total, 229 of 230 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground were killed in the accident.

Lawyers for the families have presented some striking evidence: a 2018 FAA report confirming Boeing and Honeywell were aware that switches were being delivered with their locking mechanisms disengaged. These locks were intended to prevent accidental fuel shutoff, but the suit claims the companies never warned airlines or replaced the defective parts.

The suit further argues that the cutoff switches were installed directly behind the thrust levers, which are a “high traffic” zone that pilots constantly manipulate during takeoff. Attorneys compared this defect to “putting an unprotected emergency brake control next to a radio volume knob in your car.”

“It is shocking that Honeywell and Boeing both knew of this danger and did absolutely nothing to prevent the inevitable catastrophe that occurred on June 12,” added Benjamin Major, co-counsel for the families. “And unlike a car, restarting jet engines takes minutes of time, not seconds. Once these engines shut down, that plane basically became a 250,000-pound lawn dart.”

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.honeywell.com