Ahmedabad plane crash: Captain Sumeet Sabharwal’s mortal remains handed over to family

Sabharwal was piloting the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed. He, along with 240 other passengers, was killed in the crash on June 12

Mumbai: The mortal remains of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the Air India pilot who perished in the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash, arrived at his residence in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Sabharwal was piloting the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed. He, along with 240 other passengers, was killed in the crash on June 12. Besides the 240 passengers, people on the ground were also killed, bringing the death toll to 270 so far.

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Captain Sabharwal, a seasoned pilot with over three decades of flying experience, was one of the nine Mumbai-based crew members on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India Flight 171.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Sabharwal had logged more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit.

However, his colleagues believe that his actual flight experience exceeded that figure, noting that the DGCA’s current digital system may not fully reflect his extensive aviation history.

“He called his family from the airport and assured them that he would call again after landing in London,” said a relative. “The call never came, and his final conversation was likely with air traffic control; just moments before the aircraft went down.”

His mortal remains were brought to his residence at Jalvayu Vihar in Powai, Mumbai, where police security has been deployed outside the building to manage the gatherings.

On Friday, authorised representatives from a medical laboratory arrived at the residence to collect DNA samples from Sabharwal’s family. The identification process was completed, and then preparations were made to bring his remains home for the final rites.

A condolence meeting has been scheduled at his home in the Jalvayu Vihar Society, where family members, friends, and fellow crew members are expected to gather and pay their last respects to the veteran pilot.

Meanwhile, a high-level team of international aviation investigators and Boeing representatives arrived in Ahmedabad to assist the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in probing the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The investigative delegation includes officials from the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as confirmed by multiple sources.

Their involvement is in accordance with international civil aviation norms, specifically Annexe 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which mandates collaborative investigations involving the country of aircraft manufacture and those with substantial victim representation.