Mumbai mourns 9 Air India crew members whose dreams were cut short in Ahmedabad plane crash

The Air India aircraft crashed into residential quarters of BJ Medical College doctors in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area.

Nine Air India crew members, including the pilot and co-pilot, from Mumbai lost their lives in the tragic crash near Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a senior pilot with over 8,200 flying hours, had been with Air India since 1994. He lived in Jal Vayu Vihar, Powai, and had recently promised his 82-year-old father, a retired DGCA official, that he would take time off to spend with him. That promise was never fulfilled. “A few days ago, he promised to take a break to spend time with his father,” TOI quoted MLA Dilip Mama Lande, who met family members of Sumeet Sabharwal.

Co-pilot Clive Kunder’s family originally lived in Kalina before moving to IC Colony, Borivali in Mumbai. His mother was also once an airline crew member. The family is currently in Australia visiting Clive’s sister. “They had no idea. We were all in shock,” said their former landlord, Kenneth Carvalho, in Mumbai.

Cabin crew member Aparna Mahadik, 42, lived with her husband Amol, also an Air India crew member, in Goregaon East’s Oberoi Esquire building. Aparna was known for her dedication to her job. Amol is the nephew of NCP’s Raigad MP, Sunil Tatkare.

In Juhu Koliwada, the family of Saineeta Chakravarti, the sole breadwinner, was devastated after learning of her death from neighbours and television. Saineeta was a stewardess with Indigo for many years before joining Air India recently. Her elderly parents learned of the tragedy through neighbours and television news reports, according to the TOI report.

Deepak Pathak, who had worked with Air India for 11 years, lived in Badlapur with his wife and parents. He had called his mother earlier in the day to say he was in Ahmedabad, preparing to fly to London. After the crash, the family repeatedly called his phone, but it remained switched off.

Nganthoi Sharma K from Manipur and Maithili Patil, 22, from Nhava village, were also part of the cabin crew. Maithili, who came from a humble background, had spoken to her father at 11.30 am. just before the flight. “She was very excited to be flying to London. She always wanted to work in aviation,” TOI quoted her uncle, Jitendra Mhatre, as saying.

Roshni Songhare, cabin crew member and social media influencer from Dombivli, was unmarried. She lived with her parents and brother in Rajaji Path. Her brother and father left for Ahmedabad in the evening.

These nine crew members, all based in Mumbai, were young, committed professionals with families and dreams.

The crash involved an Air India flight carrying 242 people, including 169 Indian citizens, 53 British nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese nationals.