Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of the ill-fated Air India Flight 171, is being hailed as a hero for his quick thinking that likely saved dozens of lives moments before the plane crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick with 242 passengers and crew, lost thrust just after take-off from Ahmedabad airport.
In a desperate final manoeuvre, Captain Sabharwal steered the powerless jet away from a cluster of apartment buildings, veering it towards a green space before the aircraft slammed into the ground and burst into flames.
Though nearly everyone onboard perished—save for one British survivor seated in 11A—residents in the surrounding area say many more would have died had the plane struck their homes.
“Thanks to the pilot, we survived. He’s a hero,” said Jahanvi Rajput, a resident near the crash site. “If it had hit our buildings, hundreds more would have died.”
The crash also claimed the lives of several medical students when parts of the plane clipped a dormitory at B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital.
Captain Sabharwal, 56, who had logged more than 8,200 hours of flight experience, had reportedly told his elderly father just days before the crash that he planned to retire soon to care for him.
His father, a former official with India’s aviation authority, is said to be devastated by the loss.
Authorities have recovered both black boxes—the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder—which are expected to help investigators from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau reconstruct the final moments of the crash.
The aircraft, carrying 53 British nationals, plummeted into the densely populated Meghani area shortly after takeoff, leaving a trail of destruction.
At least 270 bodies have been recovered, including about 30 from the medical dormitory struck by the aircraft’s landing gear and fuselage.
Tributes continue to pour in for Captain Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who are credited with preventing an even greater tragedy in the final seconds of their lives.
