Kerala plane crash: Mortal remains of co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar his native place in Mathura

New Delhi, Aug 09: Air India Express employees paid tributes to co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar, who lost his life in the Kozhikode plane crash incident, here in Delhi on Sunday. He is survived by his pregnant wife. His cousin Basudev said the delivery is expected in 10-15 days. The devastated family is trying to come to terms with their loss.

"He was a very humble, polite, & well-behaved person. His wife is expecting to deliver their child in the next 15-17 days. He joined Air India in 2017 and had come home last, before lockdown," Akhilesh's cousin, Basudev, told ANI.

His mortal remains were brought from Kochi to the Delhi Airport at 2:25 am on Sunday, which are now being taken to his native place in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

Kumar and Captain Deepak Sathe died along with 16 others after the Air India Express flight that they piloted from Dubai broke in two moments after landing at the tabletop runway in Kozhikode.

About 200 Air India members paid tributes to Kumar and observed two minutes of silence and prayed for the peace of departed officer.

The Air India Express flight, which was part of the Vande Bharat Mission, had crash-landed at the Kozhikode airport yesterday leading to the death of 18 persons including the two pilots.