Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the only survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people a year ago, has called for “honesty, transparency and answers” as investigators still have not published their final findings. The 39-year-old British national lost his brother Ajay in the disaster, in which a Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June 2025.
“I live with the significant psychological scars, the loss of my brother, and the constant unanswered questions around how and why this happened,” Ramesh said in a statement to the Press Association. “I know those questions are not just on my mind; they are on the minds of every affected family.” The crash killed 241 people on board the London-bound flight, including 169 Indian nationals and 52 Britons, as well as 19 people on the ground. A further 67 were seriously injured.
“Sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh demands answers one year after Air India crash killed 260.”
Exactly 30 days after the crash, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report that found both fuel switches had moved to the “cut-off” position “immediately” after takeoff, stopping fuel supply to the engine. The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” and the other replying, “I did not do so.” The report did not identify which pilot moved the switches, but sources indicated that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 55, was the focus. His co-pilot, Clive Kunder, 32, was flying the jet with both hands on the controls while Sabharwal monitored. The final report, due to mark the anniversary, will not contain a definitive conclusion.
Ramesh, who crawled out of the wreckage, has since faced severe hardship. His representative, Sanjiv Patel, said Ramesh has received £21,500 from Air India to support his wife and five-year-old son, but continues to struggle physically, psychologically and financially. “He has been unable to return to work and support his family in the way he once did, leaving them currently living on less than £1,000 per month,” Patel said. “We’ve repeatedly asked to meet the chief executive of Air India but that has not happened.” Patel added that recent meetings with Air India executives and representatives of the Tata Group, which has a controlling stake, were “constructive” but that “a number of important issues remain under discussion.”
Patel also criticised the UK government, saying: “Despite one of the worst aviation disasters involving British citizens in recent years, neither Viswash nor many of the affected families we have spoken to have received any direct contact or tailored support from the UK Government.” Ramesh is taking civil action, with his solicitors stating they will “examine every detail of the air accident investigations and expect all parties involved to act appropriately to any findings of fault, failure or negligence.”