This morning I was about to go on CNN to discuss the tensions in the Middle East when a horrifying tragedy flashed across the screens. That tragedy - the Air India flight crash that killed 242 people - was unfathomable to watch. It’s moments like these that remind us both of how fragile life is and about how often we take the routine as normal, when air flight is actually remarkable.
It’s in this vein that I’m writing this post, as I truly believe that we need answers and accountability about this accident, so that something like this never happens again.
As you probably know by now, the Air India flight that was heading towards London and crashed in Ahmedabad was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. There was one survivor. This was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 since its 2011 debut, a fact that had made this aircraft appear to be the safest in the sky. So how did a near‑new aircraft with a perfect safety record plummet shortly after takeoff? We need answers and full transparency from Air India and Boeing.
Accountability matters and it isn’t about blame—it’s about ensuring that this never happens again. We need to know if the crew training was sufficient; if safety protocols were followed; and if there were any oversight lapses or critical warnings missed.
These are important questions not just for India to navigate, but also for us, here, in the United States. This past year, Congressional hearings exposed egregious failures in airline accountability and pressured the Federal Aviation Administration to step up enforcement. Congress needs to haul in Boeing and others in the industry, once again, to explain what happened in India and how it won’t happen again.
Oversight isn’t optional—it’s essential to building public trust and generating safe service.
In the end, the families of the victims deserve answers and we deserve assurances. No one boards a flight expecting to become a statistic in an avoidable tragedy. Today, we must insist on full information—and hold every responsible party to account.
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