Former pilot says Captain Sumeet Sabharwal did all he could to minimise damage in desperate situation; NCP leader eulogises sister’s daughter-in-law who perished in crash
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of Air India flight 171 (right) Aparna Mahadik, senior crew
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of the ill-fated Air India Flight 171, has been hailed for doing all he could, including issuing a Mayday call to the air traffic controller around 1.39 pm on June 12, to avert tragedy.
Amol Yadav, former deputy chief pilot, Jet Airways, who is now a businessman, said, “When an aircraft is high in the sky, it’s possible to save more lives on the ground. For instance, if a plane is 10,000 feet above and both engines fail, it does not come down immediately. It glides for almost up to 30 miles [48.2 km]. It takes approximately five to seven minutes for the aircraft to touch the ground. This is when the pilot can take stock of the situation and turn the aircraft to the least populated area or a plain ground. In this accident, the biggest drawback was the fact that the aircraft wasn’t much higher above ground level. Even then, Captain Sabharwal, using all his experience, tried to make the descent to the least populated area available within the radius that he had. Unfortunately, some lives on the ground couldn’t be saved.”
On Friday, DNA samples were collected from Captain Sabharwal’s 82-year-old father, Pushkaraj, who stays in Jal Vayu Vihar, Powai, to identify the body of the pilot. Kamla Prasad Yadav, the building’s watchman, told mid-day, “He [Captain Sabharwal] had lived in this building for a very long time. He used to often take walks with his father on the premises and have casual conversations with me about how everything was going and if I had any problems.” A neighbour added, “Whenever he left for work, which was usually in the morning, he used to tell me to check in on his father. The family must be devastated.”
Leader’s tribute
NCP MP Sunil Tatkare opened up about the loss of Aparna Mahadik, one of the 12 crew members who died in the mishap, who is also his younger sister’s daughter-in-law.
Expressing deep sorrow, he described Mahadik as an ideal mother, wife and daughter-in-law. He added, “She always kept the family together. Aparna was a woman of bravery and open-mindedness. Her presence brought strength and warmth to those around her.” He also stated that DNA samples of Mahadik’s elder sister had been collected.
Eulogising Mahadik, one of her neighbours, Advocate Vedika Chaubey said, “She always had a smile on her face and was a fitness enthusiast. Her son was studying in Delhi, while her daughter was studying here in Mumbai.” Mahadik was recently promoted to chief cabin crew and had begun flying international routes.
She is survived by her husband, Amol Tatkare, also an Air India employee, and a son and daughter. At the time of the accident, Amol was in Delhi and rushed to Ahmedabad as soon as he learnt of the crash. His parents and daughter also departed their residence at Oberoi Esquire in Goregaon East.
A respectful man
Goregaon’s SunteckCity building, where First Officer Clive Ratanjeev Kunder lived, also wore a mournful look on Friday. “We used to often meet him while he came to play football,” said Brian Miranda, a family friend of Kunder. Shocked by their sudden loss, family members of the deceased await the arrival of Kunder’s parents from Australia.
Kunder was also known to be respectful to those who were security staff at his housing complex. “He was a really good man. He used to greet us every time he saw us. What happened is terribly unfortunate,” said Mosim Khan, a watchman.
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