Family members of the victims of the Air India Flight AI-171 crash attend 'A Day of Remembrance, Unity and Justice' event organised on the first anniversary of the tragedy, in Ahmedabad on Friday | Photo Credit: ANI

Suresh Mistry held on tightly to the last photograph his daughter ever clicked. The selfie, taken by 24-year-old Kinal Mistry at Ahmedabad airport moments before she boarded Air India flight AI-171 on June 12 last year, captured a young woman about to begin a journey.

Hours later, she was among the 260 people killed in one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters.

On Friday, as families of victims gathered in Ahmedabad to mark the first anniversary of the crash, Mistry carried the photograph with him. Around him, nearly 150 families sat connected by a shared tragedy. Some carried framed portraits. Others brought files containing compensation claims, correspondence with authorities and requests for missing belongings. Almost all carried questions that remained unanswered a year later.

“Had the government organised a memorial service and met the families of the victims, it would have been heartening for us,” Mistry said.

Remembrance event

The gathering, organised by Chionuma Law Firm and Beasley Allen Law Firm, became more than a remembrance event. It evolved into a forum where grieving families spoke of delayed investigations, unrecovered possessions, compensation disputes and what many described as an absence of official recognition of their loss.

For Mistry, the anniversary was particularly difficult. Kinal had travelled to India for a month and was preparing to return after undergoing a dental procedure. Instead, her family members found themselves marking her first death anniversary. “Today we had a ceremony back at our home in Anand, but I decided to travel here for this get-together,” he said.

The search for answers was a recurring theme throughout the afternoon. Prakash Chaudhary, who travelled from Dhanera in Banaskantha district, lost his younger sister Dhapuben and her husband Kamlesh in the crash. The couple had been married for barely five months. Their trip aboard AI-171 was meant to be their first journey abroad together.

“My youngest sister and her husband were on the flight,” Chaudhary said. “It’s been a year since the crash happened and the government is yet to find out what caused the crash.”

Prolonged uncertainty

For many families, the passage of time has only deepened their frustration. While anniversaries are expected to bring closure, several attendees said the absence of a final report has prolonged uncertainty. Others spoke of a different kind of anguish — the inability to recover the belongings their loved ones carried on board.

Eighteen-year-old Vihar Parikh flew in from London with his father to attend the gathering in memory of his grandfather, who died in the crash. The family is still waiting for the return of his grandfather’s mobile phone and personal documents.

“We are yet to receive the mobile phone and the documents that my grandfather was carrying,” Parikh said.

“Photographs of these recovered documents and passports were sent to us.”

What has further troubled the family is evidence suggesting the phone may have remained active months after the crash.

“The Google activity also showed that my grandfather’s phone had become active on March 15, 2026. Despite us mailing Air India to recover the belongings, there has been no response from the airline,” he said.

Damaged baggage

Parikh said the experience has affected the family’s confidence in the airline. During their journey to Ahmedabad for the anniversary event, he and his father encountered flight delays and damaged baggage. “All I want to ask is, will anything improve in the near future?” he said.

Questions over documentation and identification procedures also surfaced during the gathering. Kinal Patel from Vasad lost her mother, who was travelling abroad for the first time to visit her son. A year later, she says several aspects of the official records continue to puzzle the family.

“My mother who was travelling for the first time on the flight to meet my brother was killed,” Patel said. “Today I just want to say that the government should come out with the report on the crash as soon as possible.”

She pointed to inconsistencies she believes remain unexplained. “My mother’s panchnama clearly says that her DNA test was conducted using the victim’s blood. But the documents also say that the body was burnt. There have been unanswered questions.”

The struggles described by families were not limited to grief and unanswered queries.

Mentally harassed

Dipak Manariya, who travelled from Udaipur, said life after the tragedy brought fresh challenges. After losing his father in the crash, he accepted a job offered through the Tata Trust. “After my father passed away in the crash, the Tata Trust gave me a job. I joined in January 2026 and thereafter I was mentally harassed,” Manariya alleged.

He said repeated requests to be stationed closer to home were denied.

“Despite my request to be stationed in Udaipur, I was asked to visit far-flung places like Dungarpur and Banswara. After three months, I quit the job,” he said.

Even now, he added, some of his father’s belongings remain missing despite repeated emails to both Air India and the Tata Trust. The families’ allegations against Air India could not be independently verified.

Not all those remembered at the gathering had been passengers on the aircraft. Among those attending was Nilesh Setha, whose brother and sister — both doctors — died when the aircraft crashed into the Atulyam hostel complex. They were on the ground when disaster struck.

“My only request to the government is to build a memorial at the crash site in memory of all those who died,” Setha said.

As the programme drew to a close, families lingered in small groups, exchanging stories, photographs and memories of loved ones whose absence still shapes their daily lives. Many of the family members later left to visit the aircraft crash site in the city.

Published on June 12, 2026