Haresh’s parents Kuberbhai and Babiben were flying home to visit their children living in the UK when the Air India flight crashed seconds after take off(Picture: Haresh Kuberbhai Patel)
A Kent businessman whose two parents were killed in the Air India crash has said he does not believe the leading theory that pilots were to blame.
Haresh Kuberbhai Patel’s mum and dad died in the June 12,2025,disaster,which killed 260 people – including 52 British nationals.
He is one of around 30 families of victims who have written to the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) asking them to conduct their own investigation into what caused the Ahmedabad to London flight to go down.
The families,12 of whom are British,wrote that they have ‘serious concerns about how the events of the crash have been explained so far’.
Haresh said he does not want to remember the day June 12 last year when the tragedy unfolded (Picture: Haresh Kuberbhai Patel)
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Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Mum Babiben Kuberbhai Patel,69,and dad Kuberbhai Khemchanddas Patel,72,were flying from Ahmedabad to London to visit Haresh and his siblings when the plane went down in western India.Haresh,49,who came to the UK in 2005,told
Metro: ‘I don’t want to remember that day. I lost both my parents and it’s a difficult time for us.‘Mentally we’re still disturbed. We try to recover from them,but we can’t.’He added: ‘I just want to carry on and find out how this could happen.’Haresh says he and other victims’ families are ‘still waiting for the truth to come out’ after reports Indian investigators are leaning towards pilot action being behind the crash.The Herne Bay local disagrees with the contested theory,saying: ‘I don’t believe that. How can anyone go on a plane and put people’s lives at risk? No one can.‘It could be a technical problem. We deserve answers.’Haresh has joined as many as thirty other victims’ relatives in writing letters calling for the UK AAIB to launch their own independent investigation into the tragedy.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in India released a controversial preliminary report in July,which first fuelled theories that pilot self-sabotage or error.Boeing has consistently maintained that the 787 is safe,saying the firm’s exhaustive testing procedures on aircraft ensure this is the case.The company has told numerous outlets it would defer to India’s AAIB to provide information about the investigation.The AAIB defended its interim report shortly after publication. It insisted that it was not meant to direct blame towards the pilots or to encourage anyone to draw conclusions,which it called ‘irresponsible’.It said in a statement in July: ‘The purpose of AAIB’s investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about ‘WHAT’ happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light.‘At this stage,it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The final investigation report will come out with root causes and recommendations.’The investigative body said it has a ‘flawless record’ from looking into 92 accidents and 111 serious incidents since 2012.Air India’s boss also defended the results of the AAIB’s interim report in September,saying: ‘For the moment,the preliminary report indicates nothing wrong with the aircraft,nothing wrong with the engines,nothing wrong with the airlines operation,but we’ve taken a significant safety pause to ensure all of our practices and procedures are fully embedded,and people are fully embracing a new normal of even extra focus on safety,and the focus continues to be on the people that were affected.’
Air India,Tata Group and India’s AAIB have been approached for comment.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .
