Air India: Couple Cancelled Their Flight, Then Booked The One That Crashed in Ahmedabad

• A couple booked a flight that was supposed to leave India for London on June 5, but they later cancelled the flight and booked another one
• Unfortunately, the new flight they booked was the doomed Flight AI171 en route to London Gatwick
• Sunny Patel and his wife, Monali Patel, did not survive the crash, and their family has been thrown into sorrow

Sunny Patel and his wife, Monali Patel, were on the ill-fated Air India flight AI171 that went down in Ahmedabad.

Their family have been thrown into mourning after the ugly news broke and they saw their names on TV.

Sadly, Sunny Patel and Monali Patel were not originally meant to travel with the doomed flight AI171.

They were originally meant to leave India for London on June 5 via another flight they had booked, but due to personal engagements, they had to cancel their tickets.

They booked a new flight, but unfortunately, the new one they booked happened to be the one that crashed and killed 241 occupants and many more on the ground.

Sunny had returned to India from London two months ago to be with his wife, who was receiving medical treatment.

Their relative, Jignesh Patel, recounted the couple's final days to NDTV, noting that they kept in touch with him until the moment they boarded.

He said:

"They had been here for the last two months. Monali was undergoing medical treatment. Sunny had taken time off from his business in London to be with her. She was very attached to my two-year-old son. They didn't have children of their own. But with our kids, especially mine, they had deep bonds."

Jignesh said he was very close to Monali and that she sent him a message that fateful day before they boarded the doomed aircraft.

Jignesh said:

"She sent me a message at 1:20 pm. She told my wife that everything was cleared, all was well, and she gave us her blessings. Then she said goodbye."

But just a few minutes later, news broke that a plane had crashed in Ahmedabad. Jingesh said they confirmed their Sunny and Monali were also involved.

His words:

"I confirmed it was AI171, and then I saw it on the news. When I checked the passenger list and saw her name, I left immediately for Ahmedabad."

Monali's parents, Mukesh and Jayshree Patel, have already arrived in India after receiving news of the plane crash.

Jingesh said:

"She [Monali's mother] was in shock. We didn't tell her the full details at first. We said Monali and Sunny were in the ICU. We had to manage the news carefully."

What to know about the Air India co-pilot

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that one of the lives claimed in the Air India plane crash that happened on Thursday is that of First Officer Clive Kunder.

First Officer Clive Kunder was the co-pilot who manned the Air India flight Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed.

Kunder, who has 1100 hours of flying experience, was assisting Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and both of them died.

Source: Legit.ng