Ahmedabad plane crash: Promised call from crew member to her father that never came

Mumbai: Before her flight to London, Air India crew member Maithili Patil had made a final, comforting promise to her father, Moreshwar Patil, that she would call him once she reached the city. But the call did not come.

Patil, 23, is among 12 crew members of ill-fated Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI-171) that crashed immediately after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon.

A resident of Nhava village, Patil joined Air India two years ago and is the daughter of an ONGC labour contractor, former sarpanch of Nhava Jitendra Mhatre told PTI.

Mhatre, who is also Patil's relative, recalled that she had called her father minutes before the tragedy, assuring him that she would call once she reached London.

It is estimated that nine crew members, including the two pilots, were from Maharashtra.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI171) with 230 passengers and 12 crew members crashed into the complex of a medical college moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

One person survived the crash, while 241 on board were killed, of whom 12 were from Maharashtra, an official said.

He said the aircraft's pilot, Captain Sumeet Pushkaraj Sabharwal (56), was a resident of Jal Vayu Vihar in the Powai area of Mumbai and lived with his elderly parents.

The co-pilot of the flight, Clive Kunder, was a resident of the western suburbs of Mumbai, as per his social media account.

Cabin crew member Deepak Pathak lived in Badlapur in neighbouring Thane district.

Pathak's sister had earlier said he spoke to his mother before leaving for London. He had been working with Air India for 11 years, she said.

Aparna Mahadik (43), another crew member, was a resident of Goregaon in the western suburbs, and her husband also works with Air India as a crew member.

She was a relative of NCP leader Sunil Tatkare.

Roshni Rajendra Songhare and Saineeta Chakravarti, both crew members, hailed from Dombivli and Juhu Koliwada, respectively.

Songhare was also a travel influencer with more than 54,000 followers on Instagram.

The victims also included Mahadev Pawar (68) and his wife Asha (60), who hailed from Hatid village in Sangola of Solapur district.

The Pawars had left Sangola and settled in Gujarat 15 years ago, and they were heading to London to visit their son.

One of the passengers, Yasha Kamdar Modha (32), was the daughter of Nagpur businessman Manish Kamdar. She was travelling to London with her son Rudra and mother-in-law Rakshaben, and all three perished in the crash.