A year after the Air India Flight 171 crash, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal is remembered as one of the senior pilots who lost his life in one of India's deadliest aviation disasters. The Air India pilot, who had nearly three decades of flying experience, was among those who died when the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.
Sabharwal was commanding the flight that crashed moments after departure, in one of the most tragic aviation incidents involving the Tata Group-owned airline in recent years.
Captain Sabharwal was a Line Training Captain (LTC) with more than 8,200 hours of flying experience logged with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Over the course of his career, Sabharwal flew several wide-body aircraft, including the Airbus A310, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner — aircraft typically deployed on long-haul international routes.
"He was a very quiet, diligent man," a fellow pilot told the Times of India. "He kept his head down and focused on his work."
According to the DGCA, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1:39 pm IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23.
Shortly after take-off, the aircraft issued a MAYDAY call to air traffic control. However, there was no further response from the cockpit despite repeated attempts by ATC to establish communication.
The aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter soon after departure, with thick black smoke seen rising from the accident site.
Sabharwal was accompanied by co-pilot Clive Kunder, who had about 1,100 hours of flying experience.
12/06/2026 Priyanka Rathi/CNBC TV18
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