The pilot of Air India Flight AI171 has been called a ‘hero’ as it’s said he ‘saved dozens of lives’ with a last-minute decision.
Bound for London Gatwick, the aircraft crashed just moments after take off in Ahmedabad, western India, with all but one of the 242 people on board killed.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kundar had issued a Mayday call with the Boeing 786 Dreamliner losing signal within a minute of taking to the air.
He reportedly warned that the aircraft was ‘losing power’ and that he was ‘unable to lift’ and had ‘no thrust’.
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With just one passenger, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, surviving the tragedy, the Air India plane crashed into a hostel housing doctors and medical students.
Authorities say 270 bodies have now been recovered following the crash.
This happened as the experienced pilot narrowly avoided an apartment block.
Situated in the flight path, a number of the families in the three-storey residential building believe Sabharwal saved their lives.
It’s said the pilot diverted the aircraft towards a patch of grassland with the fire and smoke engulfing those in the hostel.
Residents said they were ‘so scared’ as they rushed outside as one of the closest to the crash site, Geeta Patni, told The Sun: “There was chaos in the street and fire and smoke. Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us.
“We have always worried this might happen because the planes go over so low.”
And Chancal Bai added: “If the plane had crashed into this residential area, there would have been hundreds more victims.”
As resident Jahanvi Rajput praised the pilot: “Thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal, we survived. He’s a hero. It is because of him we are alive.
“The green space next to us was visible to him and that’s where he went.”
An investigation is currently in place as one crash analyst believes footage provides evidence the crash was due to a ‘dual engine failure’.
Just days before the flight, Captain Sabharwal made a heartbreaking promise to his father.
Indian politician Dilip Nana Lande, of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, claimed that the pilot called his 82-year-old dad who lives in a care home.
He shared: “A few days ago, he promised to take a break to spend time with his father.”
The Times of India reported that the captain, who had over 8,200 hours of flying time, was the son of a former official with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Topics: Air India
Jess Battison