Clive Kunder (Air India Co-Pilot)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Clive Kunder

• Clive Kunder was born in the coastal region of Karnataka. He was raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• He was the 1st officer operating alongside senior pilot Sumeet Sabharwal on board Air India Flight AI 171 that crashed near Ahmedabad, India, on June 12, 2025.

• From his school days, Clive had a deep passion for flying. Encouraged by his parents, especially his mother Rekha, who had been an Air Hostess with Air India for 33 years, he was motivated to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot.

• Clive completed his B.Sc. in Aviation from Bombay Flying Club’s College of Aeronautics in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• In 2011, after college, he pursued commercial pilot training from Paris Air Inc., Florida, USA.

• In 2012, eventually applied for a First Officer position in different airlines.

• In 2017, he joined Air India as a co-pilot.

• Clive was among 241 passengers and crew killed in the plane crash in Ahmedabad. Ramesh Vishwaskumar was the only passenger to survive that crash.

• At the time of the Air India AI-171 crash, he had logged around 1,100 flying hours—just 400 hours short of qualifying to command a commercial flight as a captain.

• After his death, in an interview, his sister said that his parents were in Sydney, Australia, at her house. After his death news they were immediately rushed to India for his last rites.

• Clive Kunder was a very quiet person.

• In an interview, his teacher, who taught him Physics in Class 11 and 12 in Mumbai’s Wilson College, said Clive was a very brilliant student, very disciplined, very punctual, and intelligent.

• Clive was a family friend of actor Vikrant Massey. Vikrant shared on his Instagram Stories,

My heart breaks for the families & loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today. It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the 1st officer operating on that fateful flight.”

• In an interview, his sister said that Clive always made a video call to his parents before flying.