Friday marks one year since a deadly Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash killed 260 people in a densely populated suburb of Ahmedabad, India. Families of the victims gathered at the site, but they are still waiting for answers about what caused the plane to come down shortly after takeoff.

Indian authorities are expected to issue only an interim report, frustrating relatives who had hoped for a definitive finding. Under international rules, a final report is due within a year, but investigations often take longer. The interim report will likely delay closure for the families.

Flight AI171, en route to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical college hostel in Meghani Nagar. Of 242 on board, only one survived; 19 people on the ground were also killed. The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, received £21,500 in compensation from Air India.

A preliminary report revealed that fuel supply to the engines was cut off moments before the crash, raising questions of possible pilot error or suicide. The Federation of Indian Pilots has urged investigators to seek more technical data to rebut the pilot suicide theory.

The crash hit Air India at a sensitive stage of its post-privatization turnaround, which has been slowed by supply-chain issues, Pakistan's airspace ban on Indian carriers, and the US-Israeli war on Iran. The final report is expected within three months once engine studies are completed.

Source: www.aljazeera.com