 Balwantrai Mehta, who at the time was the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, was killed in the attack along with his wife, three members of his staff, a journalist and two crew members.Qais Hussain, a PAF flying officer during the 1965 war, was the pilot who fired on the civilian aircraft under orders from his superiors.In August 2011 he wrote to Farida Singh, the daughter of the deceased civilian pilot, via email, expressing his condolences.