grief-tributes-mark-one-year-of-ai-171-crash

Friends, kin, and aviation community members gathered in India’s Mumbai on Friday to pay tributes to the 12 crew members who were among the 260 victims of the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last year. Air India's Boeing 787-8 plane en route to London crashed soon after take-off, killing 241 people onboard and 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived while all 12 crew members died in the accident that happened soon after take off. 

 

Among those present at the prayer meeting was Amol Tatkare, whose wife, Aparna Mahadik, a senior crew member, perished in the AI-171 flight crash.

 

“I was at the training academy, as I also work as cabin crew with Air India. During lunch break, I got a message from somebody who also belongs to the cabin crew fraternity asking if everything is okay,” Amol said, remembering the tragic day, and added, “By the time I got to the classroom, the news had broken out, and I got to know that a plane had gone down in Ahmedabad. I still didn't think that it would be Aparna's plane, because obviously you don't think of such things, right?”

 

Amol said he had spoken to her in the morning that day. “She had woken me up for the training. I knew at what time she would be boarding and taking off. When I got to know that the aircraft was flying to Gatwick, I was sure that it was the aircraft that had Aparna on board.

 

“But I was still hopeful. The same night I landed in Mumbai and came to know that there were no survivors. I can't believe that it has been one year since then. I have complete faith in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and in all the agencies that are investigating the crash. I am hopeful that the truth comes out in the final investigation report,” he said.

 

Sandeep Kapoor, a friend of senior Air India pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who perished in the crash, was also present at the prayer meeting, held in Mumbai’s Bandra area.

 

“I don't want to get into what happened and why it happened, but I am sure no blame should come on him,” Kapoor said.

 

 

Air India employees on Friday observed a two-minute silence at the Air India Training Academy, marking a year since the AI 171 crash. The aircraft, bound for London Gatwick, met with a catastrophic accident just 32 seconds after take-off, plunging into a nearby area and causing extensive loss of life both onboard and on the ground.

 

Whenever Ajay Parmar sees a plane overhead, fear grips him. At 28, he has no steady job, his marriage is over, and sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night. Parmar was riding home on his two-wheeler when the Air India flight AI-171 crashed into the Meghaninagar hostel complex, and he found himself amid burning debris.

A resident of Meghaninagar, he worked as a gardner at the medical college hostel complex, and had got married only a month before.

"I suddenly heard a loud crash. Before I could understand anything, my hands and legs were on fire," he said, remembering the moment when the disaster struck on June 12, 2025. Parmar abandoned his vehicle and ran.

"The last thing I saw was my vehicle engulfed in flames. After that, I remember nothing. I fell unconscious. Someone took me to Civil Hospital," he said, adding that he spent two months under treatment for severe burns.

 

Doctors said he should not work under direct sunlight, so he had to quit his job. Then his wife left him. "She left because I could not work, and my physical appearance had changed because of the burns," said Parmar.

He tried to find an office job. But people would sit away from him during lunchtime because of his appearance.

"They didn't want to see my scars." His mother works as a domestic help, and she helps him with his financial needs. I still fear planes overhead. I witnessed that horrifying scene of nothing but fire, and sometimes I wake up in the night and can not go back to sleep," he said.