India, June 19 -- Hundreds of people, including politicians and Air India officials, on Thursday gathered in Mumbai's Dombivli for the funeral of Roshni Songhare, 26, a cabin crew member of flight AI 171, which crashed seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad last week. "We will miss her smile forever," said a neighbour, echoing the mourners.

Songhare's mother, Rajshree, collapsed upon seeing her daughter's coffin. A domestic worker, Rajshree raised Songhare and her younger brother, Vignesh, in a cramped 10x10-foot home in Mumbai's Walkeshwar.

Songhare's uncle, Praveen Sukhdere, said his niece always wanted to fly. "She was independent and full of dreams. Her parents gave everything they had to support her aspirations."

Born and raised in W...