Latest news with #Kunder
NDTV
17 hours ago
- General
- NDTV
"Brilliant, Disciplined": Professor Remembers Co-Pilot Of Plane That Crashed
Mumbai: "Very difficult for me to digest the news," a professor of Clive Kunder, the co-pilot of the ill-fated Air India Ahmedabad-London flight, broke down as she remembered her "brilliant and disciplined" student. Professor Urvashi taught Kunder Physics in Class 11 and 12 in Mumbai's Wilson College. "Clive was very brilliant student, very disciplined, very punctual, intelligent... His work was very neat, clean, very systematic, said Ms Urvashi, who thinks his "disciplined nature made him a successful pilot". AI-171 crashed minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 persons on board, including 12 crew members. The plane crashed into the complex of a medical college, killing at least 10 people on the ground. Ms Urvashi said that she got to know about the tragedy when she watched a report on television about the flight crash. I got to know the "co-pilot was my student Clive". She said she also spoke to one of Kunder's batchmates about the tragedy. "It was really heartbreaking to talk about him. It's very difficult for me to digest the news also that such a lively young boy wanted to make a career, wanted to live his life very happily, very disciplined, very punctual, very intelligent boy. It was very difficult for me," she said, fighting back tears. Ms Urvashi said Kunder once told her that he wanted to "do something different". The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 flying hours. According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed Ahmedabad at 1:39 pm IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It issued a MAYDAY call but then ceased responding to subsequent ATC communications, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday.
Indian Express
21 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
17 from Maharashtra die in Air India crash: First officer weeks away from wedding, 4 of a family
Clive Kunder — the first officer on Air India's London-bound flight that crashed right after takeoff from Ahmedabad — was only two months away from his wedding. The 32-year-old, whose mother was a former Air India flight attendant, recently started flying long haul international flights and clocked over 1,110 hours. Kunder, a graduate of aircraft maintenance course of the Bombay Flying Club, underwent flying training from Florida. Kunder lived alone in Goregaon while his parents and sister are based in Sydney. Beside Kunder in the cockpit was Sumeet Sabharwal (60) from Powai, who was set to retire soon. A total of 17 people from Maharashtra were killed in the tragedy in Ahmedabad. Mulund resident Shraddha Dhawan (44), a senior cabin supervisor with Air India, was also on the fateful plane. She worked with the airline for more than two decades. Her husband, CK Rajesh, is also a cabin crew member and the couple has a 13-year-old son. Aparna Mahadik, a 42-year-old resident of Goregaon, was another senior flight attendant on the plane. Her husband, Amol Mahadik, too, works with Air India as a cabin staff. Aparna belongs to a political family as her husband is the nephew of NCP leader Sunil Tatkare. Among the other crew members who died in the plane crash are Saineeta Chakravarty (35), a resident of Juhu Koliwada who was recently recruited into Air India, Maithili Patil (24) of Nhava village near Panvel, social media influencer Roshni Songhare from Dombivli and Deepak Pathak from Badlapur, who had been an Air India crew member for 11 years. Among the passengers were Asha Pawar and Mahadev Pawar, an elderly couple from Sangola in Maharashtra, who were residing in Gujarat. They were travelling to London to meet their son. Family members confirmed that the journey had been planned for a long time. Yasha Kamdar, who hails from Nagpur and is married to a family from Porbandar, was flying with her two-month-old son Rudra and mother-in-law Rakshabhen to London for a prayer and condolence meet for her father-in-law. Her husband, Kishan Modha, who runs a battery business, escaped the tragedy as postponed his travel plan last minute. 'We knew that they were on the flight, but we were not informed of their death. My son has given his DNA samples at the hospital and we are waiting now,' said Manish Kamdar, Yasha's father. Among the other victims were Javed Ali Syed and his family members. Syed, a resident of Kensington in the United Kingdom, had come to Mumbai along with his wife Mariam and their two children to spend Eid with family members in Malad. 'He visited us to see our mother who recently had a heart attack, also coinciding with Eid,' said Imtiaz Ali Syed, Javed's brother from Mumbai. As there was non-availability of tickets from Mumbai, they decided to take the flight from Ahmedabad. All four were killed.
India Today
a day ago
- General
- India Today
One was to quit, another just started: Tale of two pilots of Air India crash
One was a veteran preparing to hang up his boots, the other a young co-pilot just charting the early course of his aviation career. Both the aviators, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, met a cruel end on Thursday as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner they were in charge of, and Kunder were among the 241 people who lost their lives in the Air India crash in were operating the Dreamliner to London's Gatwick Airport, carrying 230 passengers and 10 crew members. Together, the two pilots had clocked a combined 9,300 hours of flying experience. Captain Sabharwal alone had 8,200 hours under his SABHARWAL WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE HIS JOBKnown for his professionalism and calm demeanour, Sumeet Sabharwal was deeply respected in the aviation lived in Mumbai's Powai locality."I am a retired Wing Commander and have worked with Air India staff in every kind of situation. Captain Sumeet was a very good and experienced pilot. His death is a huge loss for Air India," said Sanjeev Pai, a family friend, while speaking to news agency PTI."He was such a calm and peaceful person, an excellent pilot. There were never any complaints about him, he was very professional in both his behaviour and in his dealings with people," Pai belonged to a family with long connections to Sabharwal father, a former DGCA official, and two cousins, also pilots, had all inspired his journey to the days before the crash, Sabharwal had told his 82-year-old ailing father that he planned to quit his job to care for him full-time."Only a few days ago, he told his father that he would be quitting his job to look after him full-time," said Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande, who visited the family to offer condolences, according to The Times of CLIVE KUNDERFirst Officer Clive Kunder, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience, came from a family equally connected to mother was a flight crew member, and Kunder's early training included an aircraft maintenance course at the Bombay Flying Club in Mumbai Juhu. Clive grew up in Kalina's Air India colony in Mumbai before his family moved to Borivali, according to a Hindustan Times sister, Kliene, shared the family's deep concern and heartbreak."My father Clifford and mother Rekha are with me in Sydney, and we have no information on the condition of my brother. We are leaving on Friday for Ahmedabad to find out how he is," Kliene told the newspaper Hindustan Vikrant Massey also mourned the loss of his Kunder, who the actor said was a family friend."My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today. It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the first officer operating on that fateful flight. May God give strength to you and your family, uncle, and to all [those] deeply affected," actor Vikrant Massey wrote on Instagram on to reports, as the Air India Dreamliner, Sumeet Sabharwal and Clive Kunder were piloting, started to stall minutes after it reached an altitude of 625 feet, both of them had less than a minute to respond. The plane ultimately crashed into a residential building near the Ahmedabad airport, bursting into flames upon the Air Traffic Control (ATC) received a MAYDAY call, they reported no further communication from the cockpit despite repeated attempts to re-establish Watch
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Ahmedabad plane crash: Co-pilot Clive Kunder lodged 1,100 hours; atleast 1,500 needed to command commercial flight
MANGALURU: Clive Kunder, 34, the First Officer on board Air India flight AI-171 that crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, hailed from a family with deep ties to coastal Karnataka. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Kunder was assisting the aircraft's commander, Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, on the London-bound flight when the crash occurred. He had logged around 1,100 hours of flying experience. Under Indian aviation regulations, pilots require 1,500 hours of flight time to qualify as commanders on commercial airliners. Kunder's father, Clifford Kunder, originally from Malpe, had worked on offshore rigs, while his mother Rekha, from Mangaluru, was previously employed as cabin crew with Air India. The couple are currently in Australia, visiting their daughter, an architect, and were scheduled to return to India by the end of July. 'Clive's parents are expected to return earlier than planned,' said Amrith Kunder, a distant relative of the family. Based in Mumbai, Clive was known for his quiet devotion and was a regular at the Basel Mission Church in Kurla whenever he was in the city. He remained unmarried and completed his commercial pilot training in Florida before returning to India to pursue a career in aviation. Actor Vikrant Massey, who is related to the family, expressed his grief on social media. 'It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son,' he wrote on Instagram. Clive Kunder was one of several crew members who lost their lives in the tragic crash, which killed over 200 people and is currently under investigation by civil aviation authorities.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Air India crash: The crew of the Dreamliner
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 55 The captain of Air India Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, London, Sumeet Sabharwal, was one of Air India's most experienced pilots with 8200 hours of flying logged in. Sabharwal, a resident of Powai, was unmarried and lived with his nonagenarian father. Neighbours recalled that Sabharwal had been a pilot since 1994. 'Only a few days ago he told his father that he will be quitting his job to look after him full time,' said Shiv Sena lawmaker Dilip Lande who had come to the Sabhawals' home to condole. The family, said neighbours, was deeply connected to the aviation industry. Captain Sabharwal's father had retired from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) while his two nephews are also pilots. 'They are wonderful people,' said their next-door neighbour. 'Whenever he flew out, Sumeet would ask us to keep an eye on his father. He has now been left devastated.' First Officer Clive Kunder, 32 Like Captain Sabharwal, First Officer Clive Kunder too belonged to a family steeped in aviation. His mother was a flight attendant with Air India and Kunder grew up at the Air India colony at Kalina before moving to Borivali. Kunder completed his aircraft maintenance course at Bombay Flying Club (BFC) at Juhu. BFC president Captain Mihir Bhagvati tol HT, 'Clive was a student of the 2006 batch. He also attended some ground school classes for flying in Florida.' Kunder had 1100 hours of flying under his belt and had worked with a private airline before joining Air India five years ago. Clive, a bachelor is survived by his parents and his sister Kliene, who told HT that they were in Sydney. 'My father Clifford and mother Rekha are with me with in Sydney and we have no information on the condition of my brother. We are leaving on Friday for Ahmedabad to find out how he is.' Flight attendant Aparna Mahadik, 40 Mahadik and her husband Amol both flew for Air India as cabin crew. On Thursday, while Aparna Mahdik was on the flight from Ahmedabad to London, Amol Mahdik flew to Delhi. The family which is related to Nationalist Congress Party leader Sunil Tatkare were big devotees of Karnataka seer Kalavati Aai, recalled a neighbour at their Goregaon home. 'Aparna and her husband Amol fell in love while flying for Air India, and they have an 8-year-old daughter who is at present being looked after by Amol's mother,' said Tatkare's nephew and NCP spokesperson Sanjay Tatkare. Flight attendant Deepak Pathak, 35 Deepak Pathak had been flying with Air India for 11 years, an according to neighbours at his parents' house at Badlapur had got married four years ago and had started doing well. Pathak's father who was hospitalised until two days ago with pneumonia collapsed upon hearing the news of the crash. 'His last message was to our mother saying that he was leaving for the flight,' said Pathak's sister Shruti. 'Since the news of the crash we have been calling his phone incessantly but there is no response and we don not have any official word. One of their neighbours, Ashok Patil, told HT: 'Deepak is the kind of son every family would wish for. He was always smiling, respectful, and with no bad habits. It's unbearable to see the Pathak family in such pain.' Flight attendant Saineeta Chakravarti, 34 Chakravarti who was unmarried, was the family's sole bread winner. According to neighbours who had gathered at the cramped apartment at the fishing village of Juhu-Koliwada, Saineeta had attended Mithibai College before becoming a flight attendant. 'She used to earlier work at Go Air before joining Air India,' said her friend Nicky D'Souza. Chakravarti's aunt has gone to Ahmedabad to complete the formalities as her parents were too distraught to travel. Flight attendant Roshni Songhare, 27 At her home at Dombivali, Songhare's grieving mother recalled how her daughter loved to fly and which was why 'she chose this career.' Songhare grew up in south Mumbai and studied at Saraswati School in Grant Road and later graduated from Bharat College in suburban Mumbai. She completed her cabin crew training course from a private institute in Mumbai before joining SpiceJet. She had joined Air India last year. The family said Roshni also did some modelling and had a large social media following. The Songhare family had returned from their ancestral village in Ratnagiri for a local festival and Roshni was eager to start flying again. 'None of us could imagine that it would be her last celebration at home,' said her brother Vignesh. Flight attendant Maithili Patil, 22 Maithili Moreswar Patil, a 22-year-old flight attendant from Nhava village in Panvel taluka, is feared to be among the crew members who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash near Ahmedabad. According to her duty roster, Maithili had flown from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and was scheduled to be on the ill-fated flight bound for London. The eldest of four siblings, Maithili last spoke to her family around 11am on Thursday. 'Her mother, uncle, and cousin have reached Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for identification. A DNA test is underway, and the report is awaited,' said Jitendra Damodar Mhatre, former Sarpanch of Nhava and Maithili's uncle. Maithili came from a modest background. Her father, a welder by profession, recently secured contractual work with ONGC. 'With Maithili working as a flight attendant, the family's financial condition had begun to improve,' Mhatre added. A student of TS Rahaman School in Nhava, Maithili completed her education up to Class 12 and went on to pursue aviation training. She fulfilled her dream by joining Air India two years ago. Cabin supervisor Shraddha Dhavan, 44 Shraddha Dhavan, 44, was a senior cabin supervisor with Air India and had been with the airline for over two decades. Though she initially pursued an MBA, completing one year of the programme, she ultimately chose to follow a career in aviation—a decision that defined her life. 'She joined Air India 21 years ago and loved her work,' said her brother, Vivek Dhavan. It was during her early years with the airline that she met her future husband, C K Rajesh, a fellow cabin crew member. The couple lived in Mulund and have a 13-year-old daughter. 'We used to speak often about her flying schedules,' Vivek said, 'but over time, those conversations became less frequent.' He added that her husband, C K Rajesh, had left for Ahmedabad, while he himself would be travelling to Mumbai soon. The Dhavan family hails from Mumbai.
