Our Aviation team is bringing legal claims against Air India, Boeing and other potentially responsible parties following Air India Flight 171’s crash en route to London Gatwick Airport on 12 June 2025. Stewarts has at the time of writing been instructed by more than 30 families.
This article explains what families of passengers in aircraft disasters need to consider when seeking the best possible legal representation, and provides more information about our team’s specialist expertise.
What do you need from a lawyer?
When seeking legal representation following an aircraft crash, ensure your lawyer is an aviation specialist with the expertise and experience to navigate what is a complex legal and regulatory landscape.
It is critical to hire a firm with an outstanding reputation for this type of work. You can check whether lawyers and firms are recognised by looking at independent legal directories like Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500.
Stewarts is the only firm ranked in Band 1 for Aviation: Claimant law in Chambers & Partners and Band 1 in Travel law in the Legal 500. Our partners are the only Band 1 recognised lawyers in Chambers & Partners and our Legal Director is the only Band 2 recognised lawyer.
It is also important to understand who will do the main proportion of work on your case and what their experience is in this type of work. You should understand what the support network is around that person, particularly in cases where a single law firm may have a number of cases arising from the same aviation accident.
Where cases will be brought in other jurisdictions, like the US, it is important to complete this same exercise for foreign counsel, considering their specialist expertise and experience in aviation as well as the strength and depth of their team. Top aviation firms like Stewarts will have been instructed in the biggest recent aviation accidents – in the last 20 years Stewarts has been instructed in over 110 aviation accidents including 26 major aviation disasters. Firms who have experience of only a few aviation disasters are not experienced in this field.
What are the obligations for lawyers?
Lawyers involved in aviation matters have ethical obligations to act with integrity, competence and compassion. They must at every stage prioritise their clients’ interests and maintain confidentiality while also complying with their code of conduct. In most jurisdictions this states that lawyers must not make unsolicited approaches to victim families either directly or indirectly through an agent. Ethical lawyers will also not make specifically targeted approaches to members of the public in person, by phone or messaging services in order to advertise legal services. Aviation lawyers must also avoid conflicts of interest. Families who have suffered loss in aviation accidents are extremely vulnerable and such approaches should not be tolerated by any regulator.
It is essential that lawyers help families understand the legal pathways available, the potential outcomes and the long-term impact of their choices. This includes being transparent about timelines and next steps at each stage of the process, so families can make informed decisions with confidence and clarity.
Meet our team
Stewarts’ 13-strong team acting for families of Air India Flight 171 passengers is made up of experts from the UK’s leading claimant Aviation team and our India Practice, joined by leading barristers in their fields. Our team includes Gujarati and Hindi speakers.
The lawyers in our team include:
Sarah Stewart is an English solicitor who has specialised in death and injury aviation claims since 2006. She was previously named by The Times as Lawyer of the Week in recognition of her work representing the families of the Shoreham Airshow Disaster. Sarah is instructed in complex claimant aviation litigation in the UK and abroad, and described by the leading legal directories as a “brilliant lawyer”, “vastly experienced” and “a delight to work with”. Sarah is an APIL accredited fatal accident specialist lawyer.
Peter Neenan is a dual qualified English solicitor and Illinois attorney described by leading legal directories as “one of the finest aviation lawyers of our generation”, “an aviation law supremo” and “the first choice for any complex aviation dispute”. Peter has master’s degrees in Theoretical Physics and Advanced Air and Space Law and leads the department’s independent technical investigations.
Sherina Petit leads the India Practice at Stewarts. She has a wide range of experience in dispute resolution and international arbitration including a focus on India-related disputes. She has practised across multiple jurisdictions, including as an advocate in India (Mumbai) before qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales.
Rebecca Smith is a Legal Director within the Aviation team. Rebecca has been practicing in the personal injury field for over 25 years and has specialised in aviation litigation for the last 10 years. She is described by the leading legal directories as “an outstanding lawyer with talent, tenacity and charm”.
Nosherwan Vakil serves as in-house counsel as part of the case team. He is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati, qualified in India and England and Wales and has more than 15 years’ experience practicing. He regularly litigates international disputes in Indian courts and international tribunals.
Philip Shepherd KC acts as counsel for all liability issues. Philip has been recognised as a leading Silk for over two decades and is widely acknowledged to have the most in-depth experience of aviation litigation of any barrister in practice. He has appeared as leading counsel in many of the aviation cases and arbitrations of significance of the past 20 years.
Gerard Forlin KC acts as counsel for inquest-related matters. Gerard has been involved in many of the most significant public inquiries and inquests of the last 30 years, including the Grenfell Tower enquiry and the Shoreham air crash inquests of recent years.
The team is supported by multiple associates, trainees and paralegals.
Stewarts has also partnered with to prosecute claims against Boeing and other US-based defendants following this disaster. Both firms are recognised as the preeminent aviation firms in the US with significant strength and depth in aviation litigation.
Our progress to date
We have helped our clients obtain from Air India the advance payments they are entitled to under Article 28 of the Montreal Convention 1999, and shared information on the ex gratia payments announced by the Tata Group and other Indian Municipality payments.
We have highlighted our clients’ experiences in the immediate aftermath and requested a meeting with senior UK government officials.
We have helped our clients understand the Preliminary Report published by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau in India and are advising our clients on our liability theories against Boeing and others for product defect.
Get in touch
Families who require legal assistance can contact Stewarts at flight171@stewartslaw.com in English, Gujarati or Hindi.
You can also get in touch with us via WhatsApp – Send us a WhatsApp message.
Any families affected can also directly contact Sarah Stewart at sstewart@stewartslaw.com or Peter Neenan at pneenan@stewartslaw.com, and we would be happy to meet you individually or in one of our group meetings.