Sumeet Sabharwal, 55, and Clive Kunder, 32, were the pilots of the ill-fated Air India Flight 171 that crashed in Ahmedabad, India. Sabharwal was considering early retirement to care for his father, while Kunder was building his career momentum. The flight, bound for London, crashed into a medical college campus shortly after takeoff, leaving 270 people dead.

Investigators have recovered the black boxes and sealed the crash site to determine whether the crash was due to mechanical failure, human error, or other factors. The pilots had almost no time to regain control of the aircraft as it went down.

The aircraft took off at 1:39 pm, travelled just over a mile, and never climbed higher than 650ft before starting to sink. Sabharwal issued a Mayday call, but the plane crashed seconds later. Only one person survived the crash.

Sabharwal and Kunder had parents with careers in air travel. Sabharwal was unmarried and cared for his father, while Kunder's mother was a flight attendant. The tragedy has left families and friends grieving, with Sabharwal's father deeply affected by the loss.

Kunder, who recently joined the airline, had over 1,100 hours of flight time. His family flew to Ahmedabad from Australia to await the release of his remains. He was remembered as a humble person by his church community in Mumbai.