Mumbai: The mortal remains of Clive Kunder, co-pilot and First Officer of the Air India flight that tragically crashed in Ahmedabad, were brought to his family home in Goregaon (West), Mumbai, on Thursday morning. The 34-year-old pilot was among the 12 crew members who perished in the crash, which claimed 270 lives in total, including 29 people on the ground.
The ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 242 individuals, went down moments after Captain Sumeet Sabharwal issued a distress call to air traffic control. The aircraft crashed into a hostel building on the BJ Medical College campus, turning what began as a routine flight into one of the country’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.
Kunder, who had accumulated 1,100 hours of flight time, was trained at Paris Air, a flight school based in Florida, USA. He began his aviation career with a private airline before joining Air India five years ago. He was flying alongside Captain Sabharwal on what would become his final flight.
His body was flown into Mumbai early Thursday and received by grieving family members at the airport. The casket was then transported to his residence on Ram Mandir Road in Goregaon (West), where friends, neighbors, and relatives gathered to pay their respects. A Christian funeral service was held later in the day at Sewri Cemetery in Sewri West.
Kunder is survived by his parents and a younger sister. He had been living with his family in Goregaon and was remembered as a quiet, dedicated professional with a deep passion for aviation.
Bollywood actor Vikrant Massey, a close friend of the family, expressed his condolences on social media, mourning the devastating loss and urging the public and media to respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.
Visuals from the family’s residence showed a somber gathering, with mourners offering floral tributes and prayers in front of a framed photograph of the late pilot.
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