Air India crash: Crew member had called her father minutes before takeoff

Maithili Patil, 23, a crew member on Air India’s ill-fated London-bound flight AI-171, had promised her father she would call after landing. That call never came.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, killing all 12 crew members and 230 passengers.

Patil, a resident of Nhava village and daughter of an ONGC labour contractor, had joined Air India two years ago, , according to India media reports.

Minutes before the crash, she had spoken to her father, Moreshwar Patil, reassuring him that she would call from London, said Jitendra Mhatre, former sarpanch (Panchayat chief) and a relative.

Among the other crew members was Aparna Mahadik, 43, of Goregaon, whose husband also works with Air India. Roshni Rajendra Songhare of Dombivli and Saineeta Chakravarti of Juhu Koliwada were also on board. Songhare was a travel influencer with over 54,000 Instagram followers.