Auto Driver's Daughter On Way To London To Pursue MTech Died In Crash

Payal Khatik was on an adventure.

The young woman from Gujarat's Himatnagar, whose father drives a loading rickshaw, was full of excitement Thursday morning as she boarded an aeroplane to travel out of the country for the first time. In fact, relatives said she was the first member of the family to do so. She was travelling to the United Kingdom, to read for a Master's degree in engineering and technology.

Ms Khatik's family bid a fond adieu to their beloved daughter a little before 10 am and went home, confident she would reach London's Gatwick Airport safely and excel in her studies.

What followed, instead, was the worst aviation disaster in 15 years.

Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad.

Two hundred and seventy-four people were killed, including Ms Khatik and some on the ground, as the plane fell on a students' hostel. Only one passenger - in seat 11A - survived.

READ | Is 11A Safest Seat On Plane? What Expert Said On Lone Survivor

For Payal Khatik's family, her father and mother, and several siblings, the 'why' does not, perhaps, matter. All they know is that she is dead, her death confirmed by DNA analysis.

"After completing her college, she stayed with us... she wanted to study further in London. So we took out loans to support her education there..." her father, Suresh Khatik, told ANI.

#WATCH | Sabarkantha, Gujarat | Relative of a deceased passenger of AI-171 plane crash, Suresh Khatik says, "...After completing her college, she used to stay with us. Then she wanted to study in London. We took out loans to support her education there...My DNA sample has been… pic.twitter.com/G35tZaWJha

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2025

He took those loans hoping Ms Khatik's future job would help pay back and support the family, maybe pull them out free of the poverty trap. Now they have no way to pay back the loans.

"She was the first member of our family to travel abroad... she was going to London. She completed her BTech from Udaipur and was going for MTech. But this tragic incident happened. Our family is deeply saddened..." her cousin, Bharat Chauhan, told news agency IANS.

Sabarkantha, Gujarat: Payal Khatik from Himatnagar was among those who lost their lives in the Ahmedabad-London Air India flight crash. Originally from Gogunda village in Udaipur, Rajasthan, Payal lived in Himatnagar with her brother and two sisters

Her relative, Bharat Chauhan… pic.twitter.com/ny4iY76YPr

— IANS (@ians_india) June 13, 2025

Hailing from Udaipur in Rajasthan, Payal was loved as "a very good girl", according to Sushila Pathak, a family friend whose son she had been tutoring for the past six years.

She studied from Class I to Class X at the Adarsh School in Himatnagar, and completed her Class XI and XII from the Himat High School, sources told NDTV.

Payal Khatik and her mother, moments before Payal boarded the ill-fated AI-171 flight. 

"She was educated. She has brothers and sisters... and her father is a driver. But the financial condition of her family was not good," she said, adding that she had last met Payal Khatik 30 days ago, when she coached her son for the last time before leaving for the UK.

The money Ms Khatik earned by coaching the Pathaks' son will leave a big gap in her family's income stream, another relative told ANI, saying, "The financial condition of the family is not good. Payal used to take care of the family by giving tuition to the students..."

Why the plane crashed remains unclear; the black box has been recovered and a forensic analysis of the data is ongoing. What is clear is that 36 seconds into the flight the plane failed to gain altitude.

READ | How Black Box Brings Investigators Closer To What Caused Air India Crash

In a video widely shared online, a struggling AI-171 falls on a residential area bordering the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and explodes in a ball of fire.

With input from agencies

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