Kozhikode crash: Co-pilot Akhilesh Sharma’s wife is expecting a child

“Initially, we got the news that bhaiyya (Akhilesh) was critical and hospitalizsd after the plane crash but we were later informed about his death on Friday night. My brother, Bhuvnesh, and (brother-in-law) Sanjeev Sharma have left for Kozhikode via Delhi,” said Lokesh Sharma (24), who lives in Mathura and aims to become a commercial pilot.

The family of 32-year-old Akhilesh Sharma, co-pilot of the Air India Express plane that crashed in Kerala’s Kozhikode on Friday evening, is in shock. The tragedy has struck the family at a time when Sharma’s wife Megha, 29, is expecting a child within a fortnight.

Akhilesh Sharma, co-pilot of the Air India Express plane that crashed in Kerala’s Kozhikode on Friday evening. Neither of the two pilots survived the crash.(HT Photo)

The family lives in Govind Nagar locality of Mathura.

“Initially, we got the news that bhaiyya (Akhilesh) was critical and hospitalizsd after the plane crash but we were later informed about his death on Friday night. My brother, Bhuvnesh, and (brother-in-law) Sanjeev Sharma have left for Kozhikode via Delhi,” said Lokesh Sharma (24), who lives in Mathura and aims to become a commercial pilot.

Akhilesh was elder to Bhuvnesh, 28, works in an IT firm in Gurugram, and Lokesh, 24. Their elder sister is married. His father, Tulsi Ram Sharma, owns a business in Mathura and had come to Govind Nagar in Mathura city from his ancestral village in Mathura district.

“Akhilesh studied in Amarnath College in Mathura and joined CAE Oxford Aviation Academy in Gondia (Maharashtra) to be trained as a pilot. He joined Air India in 2017. He was married to Megha in 2018, and the couple was about to have a child. But destiny snatched him from us,” said Lokesh.

Now, the family is awaiting Akhilesh’s remains to return to Mathura where the funeral will be held.