Mumbai

Family members, friends and colleagues gathered in Mumbai on Friday to remember the 12 crew members who lost their lives in the AI-171 Air India crash, as the city marked one year since one of India's deadliest aviation tragedies.

The prayer meeting, held in Mumbai's Bandra area, brought together grieving relatives and members of the aviation fraternity to honour those who died when the London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12 last year.

The disaster claimed 260 lives — including 241 passengers and crew members onboard and 19 people on the ground. Only one passenger survived, while all 12 crew members perished during the aircraft's initial climb.

Among those attending the memorial was Amol Tatkare, whose wife Aparna Mahadik, a senior cabin crew member with Air India, was among the victims.

Recalling the day of the tragedy, Tatkare said he himself was attending training at Air India's academy, where he also worked as cabin crew.

"I was at the training academy. During lunch break, I got a message from somebody from the cabin crew fraternity asking if everything was okay," he said.

He initially did not realise that the crash involved the aircraft on which his wife was serving.

"By the time I got to the classroom, the news had broken out that a plane had gone down in Ahmedabad. I still didn't think it would be Aparna's plane because you don't think of such things," he said.

Tatkare had spoken to his wife that morning before she left for duty.

"She had woken me up for the training. I knew what time she would be boarding and taking off. When I learnt the aircraft was flying to Gatwick, I knew it was the one Aparna was on. But I was still hopeful," he recalled.

He travelled back to Mumbai that night only to learn that there had been no survivors among the crew.

"I can't believe that it has been one year since then," he said.

Describing the months since the crash as deeply traumatic, Tatkare said the tragedy had profoundly affected not only him and his daughter but also both sides of the family.

"I have complete faith in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and all the agencies investigating the crash. I am hopeful that the truth comes out in the final investigation report," he said.

Also present at the memorial was Sandeep Kapoor, a close friend of senior Air India pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who commanded the ill-fated flight.

Without speculating on the cause of the accident, Kapoor defended his late friend.

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

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As families continue to mourn their loved ones, many say they are still waiting for definitive answers from investigators into what caused the devastating crash that altered hundreds of lives forever.