IndiGo Cabin Crew Member Kainoor Mistry Dies After Borivali Highway Crash, Raising Questions Over Safety Of Staff Transport

Mumbai: A 32-year-old IndiGo cabin crew member, Kainoor Mistry, died during treatment on Saturday after sustaining serious injuries in a road accident on September 18 in Borivali East. She was returning home from work in a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a bridge ledge on the Western Express Highway. Mistry, a resident of Mira Road, is survived by her eight-year-old son.

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Surprisingly, the driver, Vijay Khose, 25, a resident of Mira Road, sustained no injuries. Police initially booked him under Sections 125 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). After Mistry succumbed to her injuries, police added Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) to the case. Khose was served a notice.

According to police, the accident occurred around 5.45 am on Friday in front of Blue Sky Co-operative Society on Western Express Highway, northbound in Borivali East. Mistry was employed with IndiGo, which had hired vehicles from a Mayursh tour and travel company, to ferry its employees to and from work.

After completing her duty, Mistry was travelling to her residence in Mira Road. She was seated in the rear seat of the car. When the car reached the Western Express Highway, the driver allegedly lost control while attempting to drive over a bridge ridge and crashed into its ledge. Mistry sustained serious head injuries.

The driver took her to Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mira Road, where she was undergoing treatment. However, she died on Saturday evening, doctors said. A police officer said the driver was not intoxicated and did not flee from the spot. With the assistance of bystanders, he rushed Mistry to the hospital in Mira Road, as he was a resident of the area and was familiar with the locality and its hospitals.

Police said Khose had been brought to the police station and served a notice after the accident. Following Mistry’s death, Section 106(1) was added to the case. Police said they would not issue a second notice in the same case, as one had already been served on the driver.

Tributes shared online described Mistry as a loving mother, daughter and colleague. Friends remembered her as a person whose identity extended far beyond the uniform she wore. Her death has left her eight-year-old son without his mother, deepening the grief among those who knew her.

The death of a young cabin crew has raised serious concerns among the aviation fraternity regarding their safety. Multiple crew members and people closely associated with the industry have highlighted that those who ensure passengers' safety onboard should also be transported safely on the ground.

IndiGo did not comment on the incident until the time of the report going to the press but internal sources said that the airline is "sensitively investigating" the facts of the incident and is assisting Mistry's family. The incident has attracted allegations by individuals against airlines over neglecting the state of drivers who are deployed to pick-up and drop the crew members.

Abhineet Mishra, a commentator on cabin crew issues, said that IndiGo should reflect on what they can do better and cabin crew safety should be as big a priority as passenger safety. He posted a reel on Instagram criticising IndiGo.

"Cabin crew members are entrusted with our security at 35,000ft but their safety has been compromised. IndiGo can not shake off their responsibility; it is its vicarious liability to ensure that their employee reaches home safely. Even when cabin crews are on their way to their home after completing their duty, their safety is the airline's responsibility," he said.

Prakrati Mishra, a former IndiGo cabin crew who was Mistry's batchmate during the training period, said in an Instagram post that, "Airlines make big claims about passengers' safety but where are those promises when it comes to their employees? There have been various instances of molestation of crew members in cabs and during layovers but the airlines haven't acted upon it. Even the insurance can not be claimed once a crew member deboards the aircraft."

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