Ahmedabad plane crash: Co-pilot Clive Kunder had 1,100 hours of flight experience; 1,500 needed to captain a commercial aircraft

MANGALURU: Clive Kunder, 34, the First Officer on board Air India flight AI-171 that crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, hailed from a family with deep ties to coastal Karnataka. Kunder was assisting the aircraft’s commander, Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, on the London-bound flight when the crash occurred. He had logged around 1,100 hours of flying experience. Under Indian aviation regulations, pilots require 1,500 hours of flight time to qualify as commanders on commercial airliners. Kunder’s father, Clifford Kunder, originally from Malpe, had worked on offshore rigs, while his mother Rekha, from Mangaluru, was previously employed as cabin crew with Air India.

The couple are currently in Australia, visiting their daughter, an architect, and were scheduled to return to India by the end of July. “Clive’s parents are expected to return earlier than planned,” said Amrith Kunder, a distant relative of the family. Based in Mumbai, Clive was known for his quiet devotion and was a regular at the Basel Mission Church in Kurla whenever he was in the city. He remained unmarried and completed his commercial pilot training in Florida before returning to India to pursue a career in aviation.

Actor Vikrant Massey, who is related to the family, expressed his grief on social media. “It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son,” he wrote on Instagram. Clive Kunder was one of several crew members who lost their lives in the tragic crash, which killed over 200 people and is currently under investigation by civil aviation authorities.