The co-pilot of the ill-fated Air India flight AI 171 that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday (June 12) afternoon, Clive Kundar, was a native of Mangaluru.
Kundar lived in Mumbai though. He had completed his training at Paris Air Inc. and had 1,100 flight hours of experience.
As news of his death spread, his classmates, friends, and the local community in Mangaluru were in disbelief. Messages mourning his death were circulated on social media as they got over the initial shock.
Mystery over crash
On Thursday afternoon, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London crashed just moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
Also read: Ahmedabad crash: Kerala nurse returning to London after home visit among fliers
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, made an emergency call to Air Traffic Control when the plane was at an altitude of 625 feet.
But before anybody could react, the plane lost contact and crashed right outside the airport perimeter, in the Meghaninagar residential area, exploding into a massive ball of fire.
The crash killed 241 of the 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. Only one passenger escaped miraculously.