The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Air India 171, issued a mayday call but lost contact with Air Traffic Control just minutes into the flight.
In June 2025, Air India Flight 171 crashed a few minutes after takeoff in Ahmedabad, the tragedy left 241 passengers and 29 on the ground dead. The wreckage has torn the families of the victims apart as they are consumed with grief that is almost unbearable. The immediate, physical disaster was catastrophic, but the psychological one is more complex and prolonged, and it falls into what psychologists call ambiguous loss, a state of uncertainty, a sense of a lack of finality, and continued emotional distress.
Coined by Dr. Pauline Boss, ambiguous loss refers to situations where loss is unclear or unverified, leaving families in a state of emotional limbo. There are two types: physical and psychological. In the cases of air disasters it is physical ambiguous loss, which occurs when an individual is physically gone but psychologically present (consider missing persons or disasters) .Relatives are lost, but there are no answers immediately, identification is often delayed, and the abruptness of the incident leaves a chronic sense that the loss is not yet complete.
For many families affected by the Ahmedabad crash, the journey through grief has been marked by a painful waiting game. Some waited days for DNA confirmation to identify loved ones, while others struggled to accept the reality of the loss—refusing to cry, clinging to hope, or blaming themselves for circumstances beyond their control. The absence of clear information and the brutal condition of the remains meant many could not perform traditional last rites or say goodbye, compounding their suffering.
After the occurrence of the incident, psychiatrists and counsellors were sent to the bereaved families to provide psychological assistance. Their observations showed a variety of emotional profiles: denial, anger, despair, and affective blunting. Some family members could not digest the loss and delayed the process of going home, others experienced strong feelings of guilt or could not explain their emotional state. Children, too, were left bewildered, shielded from the truth by adults who could not find the words to explain the tragedy.
Advice for Coping with Grief Without Closure:
If you or someone you know is struggling with ambiguous loss, consider these evidence-based recommendations:
1. Acknowledge the Uncertainty and Allow mixed emotions: Recognize that your feelings are valid, even if the situation feels unresolved. Accept that some questions may never be answered, and that this is not a personal failing. It is normal to feel sadness, anger, hope, and even numbness—all at once. Give yourself permission to experience these emotions without judgment.
2. Create Your Own Rituals and Seek Support: If traditional rites are not possible, find personal ways to honor your loved one—lighting a candle, writing a letter, or gathering with friends and family to share memories.Reach out to mental health professionals familiar with ambiguous loss and trauma. Support groups (in person or online) can offer comfort and a sense of community.
3. Focus on What You Can Control: Engage in daily routines and self-care practices to build a sense of stability. Set small, achievable goals to regain a sense of agency.
4. Reframe the Notion of Closure: Healing does not always mean having all the answers. Instead, aim to find meaning and connection in the midst of uncertainty.
5. Practice Self-Compassion: Be gentle with yourself. Grief without closure is particularly hard, and there is no “right” way to feel or heal.
Ambiguous loss is particularly different since it is irreconcilable. Ambiguous loss does not have a confirmed death wherein rituals and mourning may guide the family towards acceptance unlike in the case of ambiguous loss that leaves room at the end of the tunnel to hope, regret and constant questioning. As a result, grief becomes “frozen,” and symptoms of complicated grief—persistent sadness, anxiety, and even depression—can linger for years.The crash has brought about a high level of anxiety among air travelers with most of them rethinking about flying or having an overly fearful attitude and confusion with the reliability of air travel. The risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression challenge even the indirectly affected-first responders, hospital staff and the community in general.
According to mental health professionals the fact that loss is ambiguous is not an individual failing but a normal reaction to an unnatural condition. Traditional expectations of “closure” are often unrealistic in such cases. Instead, support focuses on helping individuals build resilience, tolerate uncertainty, and construct new meaning in their lives despite the unanswered questions.
In Ahmedabad the psychiatrists and the counsellors are still working in groups with survivors receiving them through this emotional war zone. They are committed to helping these families to
live with the pain rather than trying to forget the pain, and they take care of the families by respecting their loss, their memories and the absence they never forget.
The story of Air India Flight 171 is a stark reminder: sometimes, the hardest grief is not knowing—and healing means learning to carry that uncertainty with compassion and hope.
References:
1) Boss, P. (2016). The Context and Process of Theory Development: The Story of Ambiguous Loss. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(3), 269–286.
2)Boss, P. (2022). Speaking of Psychology: Ambiguous loss and the “myth of closure,” with Pauline Boss, PhD. Apa.org.
3) Chawla, M. (2025, June 18). Anxiety in the air: The mental health aftermath of the Air India crash. India Today.
4) Clarance, D. (2025, June 12). Mental health toll of air disasters on families and first responders. India Today.
5) Desk, T. C. (2025, June 12). Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashes near airport shortly after takeoff; 265 dead. The Times of India; Times of India.
6)ET Online. (2025, June 23). “She told him not to be late”: Grief runs deep as families struggle after Air India plane crash. The Economic Times; Economic Times.
7) Mooney, J. (2023). Ambiguous Loss: The Grief is Real. Rochester.edu.
8) PTI. (2025a, June 14). Aftermath of AI crash: in localities close to Ahmedabad airport sounds of aircraft makes residents jittery. National Herald.
9) PTI. (2025b, June 26). 5 stages of grief, collective mourning: Psychiatrists navigate the emotional aftermath of Air India plane crash | Latest News India – Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times.
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