A Tribute To The Crew Of Air India Flight 171

Details are now beginning to emerge about the 12 crew members onboard Air India Flight AI171, which crashed on June 12 after takeoff from Ahmedabad. All except one of the 242 people onboard perished in the disaster, including all of the crew members. 

From a cabin crew member with 11 years of experience, to new crew members and a captain nearing retirement, here we pay tribute to our aviation brothers and sisters that we tragically lost.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was sixty years old and the most senior crew member onboard the ill-fated flight. According to reports, he was planning to retire to spend more time with his elderly father. He had 8,200 hours of flying experience and was known for his professionalism and calm demeanour. 

“He was very reserved, disciplined. We used to see him come and go in uniform often, but he was a very reserved person,” said a neighbour from Jalvayu Vihar.   

Captain Sabharwal is survived by his older sister, who lives in Delhi, and has two sons who are both commercial pilots. 

First Officer Clive Kunder

Twenty-six-year-old First Officer Clive Duder had 1,100 flying hours under his belt, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Kundar’s mother had previously worked as a cabin crew member for Air India, and he had completed an aircraft maintenance course at the Bombay Flying School in Mumbai’s Juhu area.

Kunder had completed his pilot training in Florida before returning to India and basing himself in Mumbai. Friends said that he was known for his quiet devotion and 

Cabin Supervisor Shraddha Dhavan 

Shraddha Dhavan, 44, had worked for Air India for 21 years after leaving an MBA midway through to pursue a flying career. 

Dhavan lived in Mulund with her husband, who was also a former cabin crew member, and their 13-year-old daughter. Her brother said that she was deeply committed to her profession. 

Deepak Pathak, Cabin Crew 

Deepak Pathak had flown with Air India for over 11 years and was described by his colleagues as a “committed” employee. He was based in Badlapur and always called home before her flights. 

“He called us like he always does, just before he was leaving. We never thought it could be the last,” a family member said.

Saineeta Chakravarty, Cabin Crew

Saineeta Chakravarty was 35 years old and nicknamed ‘Pinky’ by her friends. She lived in Santa Cruz West and had recently joined Air India after previously working for the now-defunct Indian low-cost carrier Go Air. Her childhood friends described her as friendly and hard-working.

Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam, Cabin Crew

Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma was 22 years old and joined Air India in April 2023, having been selected during campus recruitment in Imphal.

Her family later shared the ordeal with the news agency PTI as they attempted to contact Sharma.

“It was her dream to become a flight attendant. We couldn’t chat on video as usual due to the internet ban. But she messaged me while I was in school that she would be flying to London today, and that she would be unreachable,” Sharma’s elder sister, Gitanjali, told NDTV.

“She said she would return on June 15. I wished her a safe flight and told her we’d contact her when we got the internet connection back. Then, we heard of the plane crash from an aunt on the phone. She said an Air India flight had crashed in Ahmedabad; the plane was going to London. This is how we confirmed it,” Gitanjali said.

Maithili Moreshwar Patil, Cabin Crew 

Maithili Moreshwar Patil was a 24-year-old crew member from Nhava village in Panvel. She studied in TS Rahman Vidyalaya before enrolling in an aviation course and received the full backing of her family despite financial struggles, they said.

After landing a job at Air India, she had become a source of inspiration for countless young girls in Nhava village and beyond, they added. “She was our pride. Her achievements gave us immense joy. The news of the accident has numbed all of us,” a neighbour said of Maithili, the eldest of four siblings.

“She left for work yesterday afternoon. We were told she was on the ill-fated flight. We are all praying,” a relative added.

Roshni Rajendra Songhare, Cabin Crew 

Roshni Rajendra Songhare was 27 and had recently joined Air India after previously working for Spice Jet. Being a cabin crew member was a job that had always been her “dream”. Speaking to NDTV, her father said that Songhare had been “put on duty at the last minute.”

A resident of the Madhabi Bungalow area on Rajaji Path in Dombivili, Song-hare’s parents and brother rushed to Mumbai airport when they got the news. Her mother later said that she chose this career because she loved to fly.

Her family described her as a “bright and intelligent” young woman who achieved her goals after completing her education. In her neighbourhood, her Air India uniform was a matter of pride. 

As a travel influencer, Songhare had amassed a sizable following on Instagram and regularly posted snippets from her life as an Air India crew member.

Aparna Mahadik, Cabin Crew

Aparna Mahadik was one of the senior crew members on AI171. She had met her husband while flying for the airline and had an eight-year-old daughter. The family lived in Goregaon, and the couple shared their passion for aviation.

Her husband, Amol Mahadik, was on a separate flight to Delhi at the time of the crash.

Lamnunthem Singson, Cabin Crew

Crew member Lamnunthem Singson was 24 years old and from Manipur. She had started her career with the Indian flag carrier earlier this year. Her family had been displaced by ethnic violence and had moved to Kangpokpi district. She is the only daughter among three siblings. Her mother told local news agencies that she had called to say she was travelling to London before the flight. 

Manisha Thapa and Irfan Shaikh, Cabin Crew

Manisha Thapa, a young Gorkha cabin crew member, and Irfan Shaikh were the other two crew members killed in the crash. 

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