Air India crash: Delaware suit alleges faulty fuel cutoff switches

Families of four passengers killed in the June 12 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 have filed a lawsuit in Delaware, accusing Boeing and parts maker Honeywell of negligence and alleging that faulty fuel cutoff switches caused the aircraft to lose power and strike a building shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The crash killed 229 passengers, 12 crew members and 19 people on the ground, a total of 260, and left a single passenger as the only survivor.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, seeks unspecified damages for the deaths of four named plaintiffs and contends that the fuel cutoff switches were installed with a disengaged locking feature that made inadvertent movement possible. Plaintiffs allege Boeing and Honeywell knew of the risk but failed to require inspections, to warn operators sufficiently or to supply safer replacement parts. Benjamin Major, cocounsel for the families, said in the suit that the companies "knew of this danger and did absolutely nothing to prevent the inevitable catastrophe."

Investigators and regulators have offered differing technical leads. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in a preliminary July report said the fuel switches were found in...