The ground doesn't always feel solid after you’ve fallen from the sky. For the handful of people who can be called Air India crash survivors today, life is a strange, fragmented collection of "before" and "after." Most people think the story ends when the sirens stop and the news cycle moves on to the next tragedy. It doesn't. Not even close.
Survival is loud. Then it’s very, very quiet.
When we talk about Air India Express Flight 812 in Mangaluru (2010) or Flight 1344 in Kozhikode (2020), we often get bogged down in the technicalities—tabletop runways, monsoon rains, or pilot error. But for the 19 survivors of the Kozhikode crash, or the mere eight who crawled out of the Mangaluru inferno, the "technicality" is a daily physical and mental tax. Some of them are still fighting for compensation in 2026. Others have simply tried to disappear back into normal life, though "normal" is a relative term when you’ve looked at a fuselage split in half and realized you’re the one who got to walk away.
What Air India Crash Survivors Today Are Still Dealing With
It’s been years, but the trauma doesn't have an expiration date.
Take the 2020 Karipur (Kozhikode) crash. It was a Vande Bharat Mission flight, bringing people home during the height of the pandemic. They thought they were safe because they had reached Indian soil. Then the Boeing 737 overshot the runway and plummeted into a 35-foot gorge. Today, survivors like Murtaza Fazal or Ramshad are still navigating a world that looks the same but feels entirely different.
The physical scars are the easy part to talk about. Surgeons can fix a shattered femur or a crushed vertebrae—mostly. But the neurological impact of a high-impact crash is a different beast entirely. We’re talking about chronic back pain that makes sitting in an office chair for eight hours feel like a marathon. We're talking about TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) symptoms that don't show up on a standard X-ray but manifest as sudden memory gaps or an inability to focus on a screen.
Then there is the bureaucratic nightmare.
Honestly, the way compensation is handled in India is kinda heartbreaking. Under the Montreal Convention, there are clear rules about what airlines owe passengers, but the legal reality is a slog. Many survivors find themselves caught in a loop of medical assessments and court hearings. They have to prove, over and over again, that they are "broken enough" to deserve the payout promised by international law. It’s a secondary trauma that nobody warns you about.
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The Psychological Weight of the "Survivor" Label
Why did I live?
That’s the question that haunts almost every single one of the Air India crash survivors today. In the Mangaluru crash of 2010, 158 people died. Only eight survived. When the odds are that skewed, the guilt is overwhelming.
Gregory Carlo, one of those eight survivors, has spoken in the past about the surreal nature of that morning. He jumped through a crack in the burning plane. Think about that for a second. You don't just "recover" from that. You don't just go back to your 9-to-5 and forget the smell of aviation fuel and the heat of the fire.
The psychological toll often looks like this:
- Hyper-vigilance: Every time a bus brakes too hard or a thunderstorm starts, the body goes into full fight-or-flight mode.
- Isolation: Friends and family want you to "get over it," but how do you explain that a part of you is still sitting in seat 14B?
- Avoidance: Many survivors refuse to fly ever again. For those whose livelihoods depend on working abroad—like many of the expats on those Gulf-to-India routes—this is a career killer.
It’s not just "sadness." It’s a fundamental rewiring of the nervous system. Experts like Dr. C.J. John, a prominent psychiatrist in Kerala who has worked with disaster victims, often point out that the PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) experienced by plane crash survivors is uniquely intense because of the sheer helplessness involved. You are strapped into a metal tube. You have zero control. When that tube breaks, your sense of safety in the world breaks with it.
The Struggle for Air Crash Compensation in India
Money is a dirty word when people have died, but for survivors, it’s survival.
In India, the Air Carriers (Liability) Act governs this. But here’s the kicker: the "full" compensation isn't automatic. The airline’s insurance companies often offer a base amount, and if you want the actual amount you're entitled to under the Montreal Convention (which can be upwards of $150,000 to $175,000 depending on Special Drawing Rights or SDRs), you usually have to fight for it.
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Many survivors of the 2020 crash found themselves arguing with insurance adjusters about the "value" of their injuries. If you lost a finger, there's a price. If you lost your ability to sleep without nightmares? That's harder to put a price tag on, so the insurance companies often try to ignore it.
What You Probably Didn't Know About the Legal Fight:
- The Burden of Proof: Survivors often have to provide decades of income proof to show "loss of future earnings." If you were a freelance worker or a laborer in Dubai, this is nearly impossible to document perfectly.
- The Time Sink: Some cases from the 2010 crash took nearly a decade to fully resolve. Imagine carrying that weight for ten years.
- The Legal Fees: A huge chunk of the settlement often goes to the lawyers who fought the case, leaving the survivor with less than they need for lifelong medical care.
It’s a lopsided battle. On one side, you have a traumatized individual. On the other, you have massive insurance conglomerates with unlimited time and legal resources.
Flying Again: The Ultimate Hurdle
For some Air India crash survivors today, the biggest victory isn't a court settlement. It's boarding a plane.
Some never do it. They’ll take the train, the bus, or just stay put. But for others, flying is a necessity. There are stories of survivors who, on their first flight back, had to be medicated just to walk through the jet bridge. They sit there, eyes closed, gripping the armrests until their knuckles turn white, counting every second until the wheels touch the ground.
That’s true bravery. It’s not the absence of fear; it’s the fact that they’re sitting in that seat while their heart is trying to beat out of their chest.
Lessons Learned (Or Not) from the Mangaluru and Kozhikode Crashes
Safety experts like Captain Mohan Ranganathan have been vocal for years about the risks of tabletop runways in India. After Mangaluru, there were recommendations. After Kozhikode, there were more recommendations.
But for the survivors, these reports feel like cold comfort. They know that safety culture isn't just about manuals; it's about the pressure put on pilots to land in bad weather rather than diverting. It’s about the "fuel-saving" mindset that sometimes overrides "safety-first" decisions.
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The reality of being an Air India crash survivor today means watching the news every time there's a "near miss" and feeling that familiar pit in your stomach. You realize that while the aviation industry learns from its mistakes, the cost of those lessons was your peace of mind.
Actionable Steps for Air Crash Survivors and Their Families
If you or someone you know is navigating the aftermath of an aviation disaster, the path forward is rarely linear. Here is what the experts and long-term survivors actually recommend doing—not just for the legal side, but for the sake of your own sanity.
Secure Your Medical Records Immediately
Don't just keep the discharge summary. You need the "raw" data. Keep every MRI scan, every psychiatric evaluation, and every prescription. In three years, when an insurance company claims your back pain is "age-related" and not "crash-related," these documents will be your only shield.
Seek Specialized Trauma Therapy
General counseling is fine for life stress, but plane crash survivors need specialized care like EMDR (Eye Movement Desitization and Reprocessing). This therapy is designed to help the brain process traumatic memories so they no longer trigger a physical "red alert" response.
Don't Settle Too Early
Insurance companies often swoop in with a "fast" settlement. It looks like a lot of money in the moment. It rarely is. Once you sign that waiver, you can never ask for more, even if you discover a permanent injury two years down the line. Consult with a lawyer who specializes specifically in aviation law, not just a general personal injury attorney.
Connect with Other Survivors
There is a unique healing that happens when you talk to the only other people on earth who know what that specific "thud" sounds like. Groups like the Air Crash Victims' Families' Federation International (ACVFFI) exist to provide a collective voice. You aren't alone, even if the legal process makes you feel like you are.
The life of an Air India crash survivor today isn't defined by the fall. It's defined by the incredibly hard, often boring, and frequently frustrating work of putting a life back together. It’s about finding a way to live in a world that feels a little less safe than it used to, and doing it anyway.