India, June 19 -- Just over a year ago, on June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171 roared into the afternoon sky from Ahmedabad Airport bound for London. Exactly 32 seconds later, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged into the student hostels of B.J. Medical College, bursting into a 1,500C fireball. The tragedy claimed 260 lives-including 241 passengers and crew, and 19 people on the ground-leaving behind a single traumatized survivor and a shattered nation demanding answers.

Today, as candlelight vigils mark the first anniversary of one of India's worst aviation disasters, the industry faces an uncomfortable truth: the systemic culture of negligence that many hoped would die with AI 171 is still very much alive.

Despite the implementation of ...