Air India loses 5th pilot to Covid-19 in a month
Air India co-pilot Captain Harsh Tiwary, 37, passed away from Covid-19 in Delhi on Sunday
Air India co-pilot Captain Harsh Tiwary, 37, passed away from Covid-19 in Delhi on Sunday. He is survived by his wife, a five-year-old daughter, parents and sister.
The Delhi-based first officer is the airline’s fifth pilot to succumb to Covid-19 within a month.
Captain Tiwary used to operate the Boeing 777 fleet since 2019 after joining Air India as first officer on Airbus 320 in 2016.
The Boeing pilots’ union of Air India Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) said that Captain Tiwary was actively involved in operating flights under the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM).
“He last flew on April 21 and was tested positive on May 9. On May 12, he was admitted to a Noida hospital,” said a senior pilot.
Captain Prasad Karmakar, who operated flights to the USA under VBM, was the fourth Air India pilot to die from the virus this month. He had joined the airline in 1990 as an avionics engineer and started flying in 1997. Captain Karmakar, a Mumbai resident, passed away on Thursday and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
On May 9, the airline lost Captain Amitesh Prasad, 54, who had last landed in Bangalore on April 15. He complained of symptoms after reaching Mumbai and had tested positive for the virus five days later. Two more pilots – Captain Sandeep Rana and Captain GPS Gill, too succumbed to the virus earlier this month.