On Feb. 20, Air Force 1st Lt. and UCLA alumnus Ali Jivanjee died after his F-15 crashed into another plane during routine training exercises. He was 26 years old.
The last time Mustafa Dungarwalla saw his cousin, he got a preview of the man Ali Jivanjee would become.
While riding the Central Line of the London Underground several years ago, Dungarwalla watched, hopelessly confused, as Jivanjee and his brother Ibrahim engaged in a verbal competition to name fighter planes and weapons. Jivanjee went on to become a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
Jivanjee was from San Dimas, Calif., and graduated from San Dimas High School in 1999. He graduated from UCLA in 2004 with a degree in electrical engineering and Russian language and literature. He was a member of the ROTC and went on to receive specialized undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in 2006.
Nazneen Motiwala was a longtime family friend of Jivanjee’s. She said he was the first person to give her and her family a tour of UCLA. Motiwala graduated in 2007.
“We’d always joke around. He would say, “˜Oh, when are you going to give me swipes into the dorms?’ He was really, really friendly and a very fun-loving guy,” Motiwala said.
In his second year of school, Jivanjee met his future wife, Sara. They married in May 2005.
John Graas, who was in the ROTC with Jivanjee, said Sara was an important part of Jivanjee’s life.
“She made him very happy,” Graas said.
After spending several years in the ROTC, Jivanjee was commissioned as an officer in 2004. About six months ago, Jivanjee was assigned to the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Aneesh Singhal, a college friend of Jivanjee’s, told the Northwest Florida Daily News that Jivanjee was happy being in Florida, where his parents and younger brother were already living.
As a member of the 33rd Fighter Wing’s 58th Fighter Squadron, Jivanjee flew F-15C Eagle airplanes. Graas said he was an exceptional pilot.
“He was incredible. He was one of the best F-15 pilots there ever was. From the moment he set foot in the cockpit until the moment he died, he loved every minute of it,” Graas said.
Motiwala said Jivanjee had always wanted to be in the Air Force.
“He’d always had a passion for flying. … It was his dream,” Motiwala said.
On Wednesday, Feb. 20, Jivanjee was flying a plane in a routine training exercise about 77 miles southeast of Eglin, Florida. His plane collided with another at approximately 2 p.m. Both pilots were taken to the hospital, where Jivanjee was pronounced dead. The pilot of the other plane was listed as “in good condition,” according to the base’s Web site, and was released from the hospital the same day.
Jivanjee had a traditional Muslim funeral ceremony with military honors on Feb. 22 in Tampa, Florida. Eglin Air Force Base held a memorial for Jivanjee on Feb. 27, where they unveiled a fighter jet named in Jivanjee’s honor.
His fellow officers noted Jivanjee’s generosity and aptitude for playing poker. Dungarwalla said more than 700 people showed up for the service.
“It was wonderful to see the respect the American people bestowed upon him,” Dungarwalla said in an e-mail.
According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, Randolph Air Force Base had announced in January that Jivanjee was going to be promoted to captain. The honor had not yet been bestowed when Jivanjee died.
Graas said he remembers Jivanjee as a great person to be around.
“He was always smiling, he was always happy. … He was always a hell of a lot of fun to hang around with,” Graas said.
Dungarwalla said part of the reasoning behind his cousin’s decision to join the Air Force was to show how much he, a Muslim man of Middle Eastern descent, loved his country.
“For a Muslim, joining the Air Force and fighting for his country was a big step and a good source for mending relations between the West and East,” Dungarwalla said.
He also hopes his cousin’s memory is preserved through his patriotism.
“I hope Ali’s death is not taken in vain and a lesson is (learned) by all people ““ that it does not matter where you originally come from, the morals for the land you live in are the same,” Dungarwalla said.
Jivanjee leaves behind his wife, Sara; his parents, Mehboob and Anisa; his younger brother, Ibrahim; and many more extended family members and friends.
Donations can be made in Ali Jivanjee’s name to the Animal Defense League in Texas.