(RAT) deployment, and then the sequential loss of thrust in both engines".
The firm's aviation partners, James Healy-Pratt and Owen Hanna, are said to be "working closely" with around 20 British families in relation to the
coronial process as well as the London lawyers appointed by Air India and its aviation insurers dealing with interim payments.
"This is an incredibly sensitive time for the AI171 families, and we are supporting them through the various processes in the UK and the US," said Healy-Pratt.
"On the air safety aspects, our technical investigation team believes that the RAT was automatically deployed. This suggests a serious systems failure around the critical point of take-off," he said.
"Serious questions will need to be asked of both Air India and Boeing once the preliminary report is published in the coming weeks. The families of AI171 want truth and justice, and we stand in solidarity with them," he said. The team leading the technical investigation is said to include a renowned aviation claimant barrister in England and Wales, John Kimbell KC, former US Navy aviator and aviation attorney Daniel T. Barks in Virginia - where Boeing is headquartered in the US, and a former UK Royal Air Force (RAF) fast jet and Boeing captain. The London Gatwick airport bound AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had crashed near the
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. It resulted in the death of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as 19 deaths on the ground as it crashed into the hostel block of the city's BJ Medical College.
Healy-Pratt told PTI that the law firm's focus is on the preliminary investigation report, which is expected later this month.
"We are preparing our families for several eventualities, depending on the evidence, because we've always been very clear that our advice is evidence based," explained the lawyer.
"We have focused on the reasons why the RAT deployed and the reasons why there was not enough thrust. Those are the two core issues our families need and want answers about, and that's what we hope the Black Boxes will reveal, and there'll be some mention of that in the preliminary accident report in 10 days' time," he said.
Based on its findings, Healy-Pratt indicated that the "path to justice and truth" may well be in the High Court in London or in the US federal court of Virginia against Boeing.
"For some, financial justice is one part of what is owed to them and America generously provides financial justice to (impacted) families... and it could be that financial justice was in the region of 8 to 10 million dollars per lost loved one. And, that is very different from average financial justice in England or average financial justice in India," said Healy-Pratt.
Keystone Law began by advising impacted families based in the UK and is now said to be approached by some in India too. Asked if there were any procedural concerns at this stage, Healy-Pratt said he had come across only "simple factual information" being sought from the families at this stage.
"We don't think that they are signing away any rights. The families have concerns about the identification process in London, because there have been issues with some of the repatriation for the loved ones," he said.
"They have also got issues with the silence around the investigation. They want to know why their loved ones lost their lives... a lot of them are very angry because they can't believe their loved ones have died. They want justice and they want truth, and so that's what we're doing to help them," he added.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Disaster Victim Identification have been assisting the Indian authorities with the technical safety investigation as well as the DNA identification as 52 British nationals are among the victims of the tragedy.
