A year after the Air India AI171 crash, financial assistance running into crores has been extended to the affected families, personal belongings have been returned, and support systems put in place as they await answers to India’s worst aviation tragedy in recent years.Air India and Tata Group mounted an extensive relief and compensation exercise for the affected families soon after the tragedy. Air India provided interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased to meet immediate financial needs.Interim payments had so far been made to 96 per cent of the families, while the rest of the cases involved incomplete documentation or family disputes, said the airline.Nearly 94 per cent of those injured on the ground had been provided interim or full compensation, with final settlements based on the nature of their injuries and loss of livelihood.The families had not been given any deadline to accept the final compensation offer. “Families or individuals have absolutely no pressure to accept our offer within a set timeframe,” said an Air India spokesperson.After the tragedy, Tata Sons set up the AI171 Memorial and Welfare Trust and announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased victims. The airline said 91 per cent of the families had received the assistance, while the remaining cases involved incomplete documentation or families declining the payment.One of the biggest challenges remained the return of personal effects recovered from the site. Air India said over 22,000 personal items had been preserved, documented and catalogued before being matched and returned to families.Belongings linked to 139 of the 187 deceased victims had been returned in India and the UK. As many as 60 families had received unassociated belongings, which might not initially be linked to any individual.The remaining cases, Air India said, mainly involved incomplete documentation or families choosing not to collect the items. The families of 15 deceased victims had declined to take personal belongings.As many as 25 digital devices recovered from the crash site were examined by the Indian authorities, 16 of which had been returned to families, it added.In the aftermath of the crash, more than 500 volunteers from 17 Tata Group companies, including 130 from Air India, assisted the families at the site.Each affected family was assigned a caregiver to support them through DNA identification, transportation, funeral arrangements and other procedures. A single-window helpdesk was also set up in Ahmedabad for legal, insurance and financial assistance.