Kerala Plane Crash: Deceased Co-Pilot Akhilesh Kumar's Pregnant Wife Unaware Of His Death
Akhilesh Kumar Sharma was among the 18 who died in the tragic crash at the Karipur Airport on Friday evening. Akhilesh had started flying for Air India Express in 2017 and was co-piloting the Vande Bharat flights between Dubai and Kerala.
The devastating Kozhikode crash has left a terrible void in a family in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura. While all of us are aware of Akhilesh's passing, his family members are trying their best to shield his pregnant wife from the shocking news.
PTI
According to reports. the 32-year-old deceased co-pilot's wife is just a few days away from her due date.
While the rest of the family is struggling to come to terms with the loss, Akhilesh's wife Megha, who is expecting a child within the next two weeks, hasn't been told about his death.
The entire family was very happy and would only talk about welcoming the baby. "No one could have imagined that something like this would happen," said Kamal Sharma, Akhilesh's maternal uncle.
Also Read: Right After Air India Plane Crash, Kerala United To Donate Blood And Help In Rescue Ops
TOI
Co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar Sharma, resident of Govind Nagar in Mathura, was among the 18 who died in the tragic crash at the Karipur Airport on Friday evening.
Akhilesh had started flying for Air India Express in 2017 and was co-piloting the Vande Bharat flights between Dubai and Kerala on Friday.
According to his father, Tulsiram Sharma, they received a call from Air India at about 10:30 pm informing them of the crash and that Akhilesh was seriously injured. In the morning, they came to know that Akhilesh had succumbed to his injuries. "We could have never imagined he would lose his life like this," he said.
Also Read: Kozhikode Crash Brings Back Memories Of Similar 2010 Tabletop Runway Accident In Mangalore
Pilot Akhilesh Kumar was part of an Air India Express plane crew which was the first repatriation flight under the Vande Bharat Mission to land in Kozhikode on May 8, 2020, bringing back several stranded Indians in Dubai.
Hero's welcome late last night for Air India Express Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode #VandeBharatMission commander Capt Michale Saldanha, first officer Capt Akhilesh Kumar with cabin crew members Vineet Shamil, Abdul Rouf, Raseena P & Rijo Johnson. pic.twitter.com/asKvX9kQYw
¡ª Manju V (@ManjuVTOI) May 8, 2020
Three months on, Akhilesh was the co-pilot of the ill-fated Air India Express 1344 flight, which overshot the tabletop runway of the Calicut International Airport, plunged 30 feet below and crashed, splitting the aircraft into two.