The Indonesian Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea on Monday was captained by Delhi boy Bhavye Suneja.
A total of 188 passengers and crew were aboard the plane that took off from Jakarta and vanished minutes later.
In a statement, Lion Air said Suneja had 6,000 flight hours while the co-pilot had more than 5,000 flight hours.
“The aircraft was commanded by Captain Bhavye Suneja and co-pilot Harvino with six cabin crew Shintia Melina, Citra Noivita Anggelia, Alviani Hidayatul Solikha, Damayanti Simarmata, Mery Yulianda, and Deny Maula. The captain had 6,000 flight hours and the co-pilot had more than 5,000 flight hours,” the statement said.
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According to Suneja’s Linkedin profile, completed her schooling from East Delhi’s Ahlcon Public School. He was associated with Lion Air since March 2011. Prior to it, he was a trainee pilot with Emirates.
Indian Embassy in Indonesia confirmed Suneja's death.
"Our deepest condolences on the tragic loss of lives in the Lion Air Plane crash, off the coast of Jakarta today. Most unfortunate that Indian Pilot Bhavye Suneja who was flying JT610 also lost his life...Embassy is in touch with Crisis Center and coordinating for all assistance," the Embassy tweeted.
The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained.
Indonesia's disaster agency posted photos online of a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage that had been collected by search and rescue vessels that have converged on the area.
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The National Search and Rescue Agency said the flight ended in waters off West Java that are 30 to 35 meters (98 to 115 feet) deep.
Lion Air is a fast-growing low-cost airline. The privately-owned carrier was founded in 1999 to provide access to air travel to everyone. It offers dozens of flights a day both internationally and within the archipelago's more than 17,000 islands.
The biggest airline in the country in terms of passenger numbers and one of the largest low-cost carriers after Malaysia-based AirAsia, it mostly flies Boeing 737s.
Before Monday's crash the airline had not reported a fatal accident since 2004, when 25 people died when the DC-9 they were on crashed amid heavy rain at Solo City in central Java.
(With inputs from agencies)
