Latest news with #SumeetSabharwal
New Indian Express
8 hours ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Mental health: Need ‘ATCs' to ‘hear' their ‘Mayday calls'
'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of the ill-fated AI-171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight route, called out to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) seconds after taking off at 1.39 pm on June 12 from Ahmadabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The Mayday call informed a helpless ATC that the aircraft was not achieving the thrust to sustain the take-off, and that they were 'falling'. Seconds later, the aircraft crashed into a medical college hostel, turning into a fireball, killing 241 of the 242 individuals on board and several others on the ground, taking the toll to 270. Each air tragedy shocks people, a sudden and unexpected halt on hopes, dreams and aspirations of not only those whose lives are consumed, but also their grieving near and dear ones. Relationships turn into mere memories of once-shared lives. It leaves a bitter after-taste of experiencing the lives of those known so closely being suddenly nipped in the bud, of lifelines mercilessly severed. A closure without explanations or justifications. This is what makes air tragedies more shocking – that one ill-fated incident can wipe out so many lives in one cruel swipe. Such tragedies evoke a lot of emotions, anger and frustration. However, there is another tragedy which is in the making, but fails to attract attention. There are 'Mayday calls', but not many hear them. They gradually move through a living disaster as they suffer in silence – which, if continued to be ignored, can lead them to live extremely disturbed and quality-affected lives, and worse, even consider extreme steps. This 'tragedy in the making' is mental illness, to which it is most difficult to put a number while estimating how widely it has spread. Hyper-competition is now embedded and accepted as 'part of life'. In an increasingly complicated world, in which the double-edged sword of 'social media' casts its negative impacts on sensitive minds, it works like a well-oiled machine to afflict a growing number of people with mental illness. The Covid-19 pandemic inflicted a cruel blow, bringing with it social isolation, job loss, and major disruption to healthcare and education, that made matters worse across age-groups.
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Air India crash investigators give update after recovering black box data
Investigators have successfully recovered data from the black boxes of Air India Flight 171. India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau confirmed it had begun to analyse information from the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The next stage of the investigation will involve piecing together the deadly sequence of events which led to the tragedy that killed 260 people, including all but one of the 242 passengers on board. Both black boxes were transported from the crash site in Ahmedabad to the AAIB's lab in Delhi on June 24. Their data was extracted a day later. While one of the recorders was found within the wreckage, the other was recovered from the roof of a building the aircraft smashed into. Analysis of the raw data could take some time. The UN recommends countries publish a preliminary report within 30 days of the incident. It's guidance states that the final report should be made available in the 'shortest possible time', ideally within a year. In a statement, India's ministry of civil aviation said: 'On the evening of 24 June 2025, the team led by DG AAIB with technical members from AAIB and NTSB began the data extraction process. 'The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on 25 June, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab. 'The analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences. 'All actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner.' It comes days after Air India was forced to apologise after leaked footage showed the bosses of one of its joint ventures partying just days after the air disaster. Viral footage showed executives of Air India SATS (AISATS), the airline's cargo and ground handling arm, dancing to blaring music. The clip was believed to have been filmed at the company's offices in Gurugam, near Delhi on June 20. AISATS said in a statement: 'AISATS is aware of a video being circulated on social media that unfortunately is completely out of context. 'Notwithstanding, we sincerely regret any emotional discomfort this may have caused.' This was just over a week after the Boeing 787-8 crashed on take off during the flight bound for London Gatwick on June 12. It was the first fatal incident involving a Dreamliner aircraft, although the model has suffered from several operational failures which have caused injuries. More Trending The tragedy was also Air India's first fatal hull loss since the bombing of Flight 185 over the Atlantic ocean in 1985. On the flight deck was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 flight hours alongside co-pilot Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience. There were also 10 crew on board. Authorities confirmed earlier this week they had identified and handed over 256 of the victims' bodies. Just one British man, Vishwash Kuman Ramesh, who was sat in seat 11A. survived the crash. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Air India flight from Birmingham forced to divert over 'bomb threat on board'
A Delhi-bound Air India flight - the same carrier that suffered a devastating fatal crash earlier this month - was forced to land in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in response to a bomb threat An Air India flight has been forced to divert over a bomb threat on board. The plane was due to fly to Delhi after leaving Birmingham Airport on Saturday, but was forced to divert mid-flight to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Officials took immediate action to make sure the passengers and crew on board were safe, with Air India saying the plane landed safely in Riyadh, where all necessary security checks were performed, according to the Times of India. A spokesperson for the airline said: "Flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on June 21 received a bomb threat and was consequently diverted to Riyadh, where where it landed safely and completed security checks." It follows an Air India plane disaster when a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12. A staggering 52 British nationals died when the London-bound Boeing Dreamliner plane smashed into the city of Ahmedabad earlier in June, making it the most deadly aviation disaster involving people from the UK since 9/11. The crash, which unfolded less than a minute after take-off, is so far believed to have claimed 270 lives, including 30 people on the ground. But as they try and come to terms with their loss, many grieving families have still not been able to see the bodies of their loved ones. Back in the UK, some have called on the Government to do more. After questions mounted over why British consular staff had not been dispatched to local hospitals, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer told the Commons that the Foreign Office had set up its reception centre at a hotel close to the airport "because we thought that would be the best place to receive British nationals", rather than the hospital itself "where, tragically, there are no living British nationals". The pilot of the doomed flight has been praised for 'saving dozens of lives' with his final decision seconds before his plane crashed. But India Air pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who died in the impact, has now been described as a 'hero' for diverting his plane into a patch of grassland and avoiding a direct hit on the doctors' hostel, saving countless lives. He sent a mayday message to air control less than a minute after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport, with the aircraft reaching a height of 650ft before beginning a rapid descent. As well as being a pilot, the 55-year-old from Mumbai was also the primary carer for his elderly father, Pushkaraj, who was once an officer with India's Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Pilots have hidden agreement to always say two haunting words before plane crash
A pilot has revealed that there are two specific words that Swiss pilots will always say before a plane crash - it is said to be a part of aviation culture in the country The world is still desperate for answers on exactly how the Air India plane crash unfolded, and investigators are getting closer and closer with fresh evidence. Officials working on the probe now believe that the horrific catastrophe could have been caused by the aircraft running on emergency power. Last Thursday, the Boeing Dreamliner plane hurtled to the ground in Ahmedabad, India mere seconds after taking off. The plane crashed into a medical college building, killing a total of 270 people - including all but one of the 242 passengers on board. Now investigators are said to have found evidence that an emergency generator may have been the jet's primary power source at the time it went down. One leading theory is that the plane suffered a dual engine failure, though what triggered this is yet to be determined. The ongoing probe is also set to study the pilots' last words for any clues on the cause of the crash, after recovering the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, and his co-pilot Clive Kundar, with 1,100 hours of experience, sent a mayday call seconds after the plane left the runway. The captain desperately said: "Mayday…no thrust, losing power, unable to lift." Sadly, the pilots were unable to nudge up the nose of the aircraft - and it came down just 1.5 miles beyond the end of the runway. For years, the final words of pilots have been used to analyse what went wrong in aviaton disasters. And pilots hailing from Switzerland are said to have a hidden agreement on the last phrase they utter before their demise. Richard Paul, a pilot and economist, once revealed what those words are in a post on Quora. "Goodbye everybody" is the phrase they always say, the insider wrote. "It's what Swiss pilots are supposed to say just before they meet their demise," he hauntingly revealed, according to The Express. He said it's a practice is deeply rooted in the culture of Swiss captains, adding: "It's an informal agreement among pilots." This has been the case in historic plane crashes, including the 1970 Swiss Air disaster, Richard noted. "These were the last spoken words by Captain Karl Berlinger on his flight Swissair SR 330 from Zürich to Tel Aviv on February 21, 1970." Reports from the time confirm that this was the case - the parting words were said at precisely 1:34pm, conveyed clearly to the ground control. A bomb set by terrorists detonated aboard the aircraft, sparking the catastrophic event. The fateful statement from the captain came approximately 15 minutes prior to impact. An attempt for an emergency landing failed due to the extensive smoke emanating from the explosive device. The act of terrorism resulted in the deaths of everyone onboard, including 38 travellers and nine crew members.
Hans India
21-06-2025
- General
- Hans India
When airlines treat the skies as monopoly, passengers pay in blood
It's been a week since Air India Flight AI 171, a Dreamliner enroute to London Gatwick, crash-landed within seconds of take-off in Ahmedabad—killing nearly 270 people in what is now the deadliest disaster in Indian civil aviation history. And yet, the cause of the crash remains cloaked in bureaucratic silence and corporate deflection. Officials familiar with the investigation into the crash suspect that a sudden power failure shortly after take-off may have brought down the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which crashed into a medical hostel building after gaining an altitude of only 625 feet. According to an aviation expert and YouTuber, Captain Steve, in such an eventuality, the plane would fall pretty quickly and nothing would be working for the pilots to guide the plane back to the ground. When nothing else works, the ram air turbine drops out automatically at the back of the airplane' which is like a standard small boat engine that sits in the water. 'It's got a little propeller on the front of it, and it starts spinning like crazy. It works and gives me hydraulics and electric so that I can run the radios, I can lower the landing gear, and I can manoeuvre the airplane safely to a landing.' We will have to wait for the final report to know if the flight had the RAT system or not and was power failure the real reason for the crash. For now, all we know are heart-wrenching fragments. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kundar perished with their passengers. Vishwakumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, survived by a twist of fate, though his younger brother in 11J did not. In another tragic corner, a doctor's infant son clings to life in an ICU after the fireball consumed their residential block. DNA identification is underway, bodies are being handed over, and prayers offered. But the larger and grimmer question looms: Who will take responsibility for this catastrophe? A culture of silence, not safety: Air India continues to report an alarming number of technical snags. On June 19, AI 388 made an emergency return to Delhi after take-off, due to expired emergency slides and gas canisters. How was such an aircraft cleared for flight? We are told a 'blind check' was done—a cockpit drill where a pilot, eyes closed, locates controls under guidance. But that doesn't explain how expired safety equipment made it onto a passenger aircraft. This is not a pilot memory that is being tested—this is ignoring basic maintenance. Worse still is the information vacuum. There are unconfirmed reports of 29 technical snags in 35 days, yet there is no official statement or denial from either Air India or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Just silence. Aviation experts appear every night on TV, advising patience and reiterating that airplanes are 'systems of systems'—digital engines, hydraulics, computers. They urge us to await the investigation. But why should public trust hinge on the black box, when the entire system has gone dark? The DGCA—the very body mandated to enforce aviation safety—is conveniently hiding behind the pretext of an 'ongoing investigation.' But why isn't it answering the real question even in the aftermath of such a colossal failure: if red flags were raised about Air India's deteriorating safety standards since the Tata takeover, why was the airline allowed to operate unchecked until it cost 270 lives?' Even a semblance of transparency would have helped rebuild public trust. Instead, all we get is cold corporate condolence. A vague assurance that a '360-degree investigation' will cover human error, technical failure, even sabotage. But no one—neither the Union Civil Aviation Minister, nor the DGCA, nor Air India, and neither the owners at the Tata Group—is willing to publicly own up the failure. Crisis management or image management? As usual, PR was quicker to act than protocol. Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran gave ana exclusive, soft-focus interview to a national TV channel, circulated promptly by a PR agency. Every line sounded rehearsed. He was asked where he was when he heard the news. 'I was in my office in Bombay… I rushed to Ahmedabad,' he said, emotionally. He grieved with the victims. He promised a trust fund. He ruled out engine failure, hinted that maintenance schedules were in place. But he wasn't asked the real questions: Why were no aircraft grounded after the crash? Has a complete audit of all Dreamliners been ordered? Why not pause operations, inspect every aircraft, and restore public confidence before another tragedy unfolds? What could have been a moment for transformational leadership appeared to have become a scripted corporate monologue. The opposition: Rhetoric without responsibility: Shockingly, even the opposition has missed the mark. Instead of demanding tough questions from regulators, they're busy seeking a special Parliament session to indulge in hollow sloganeering—yet another performance of fakery and optics, perhaps timed for Bihar's upcoming elections. Where is the concern for aviation safety? Where is the pressure on the Civil Aviation Ministry? When disasters happen, only families grieve. The rest— politicians, bureaucrats, corporate houses—hide behind press releases, compensation packages and vague promises of 'processes being followed.' What they fail to grasp is this: Accountability is not an inconvenience; it is the cornerstone of public safety. Crisis misused is crisis wasted: Air India, under the Tata Group, inherited a mess. It lost over ₹70,000 crore by 2021 and was sold for ₹18,000 crore—₹2,700 crore in cash, the rest in assumed debt. But buying an airline doesn't mean buying immunity. Despite injecting new aircraft and claiming adherence to protocols, the ecosystem remains crippled. Maintenance gaps, skilled manpower shortages, outdated safety audits, and an inert regulator define India's aviation sector today. Air India needed not just a financial reboot—it required a culture overhaul, a safety renaissance, and ethical transparency. Are they moving in that direction remains the big question. Even now, there is no confirmation that all AI aircraft are being thoroughly re-checked. Chandrasekaran ruled out any independent probe, content to let the DGCA. He even claimed, 'I didn't see any red flags.' The biggest red flag, sir, remains the charred remains of AI 171. The larger truth is that Air India is being strangled by operational laxity, financial burden, regulatory lethargy, and public distrust. Without systemic overhaul—real, not cosmetic— we are sleepwalking into more disasters. The death toll of AI 171 is not just a statistic—it is a mirror held up to a country that fails its own people. Where profit outweighs procedure, where regulators hide behind forms, and where tragedies are converted into talking points before disappearing from memory. Airlines must stop treating the skies as their monopoly and passengers as collateral. The government must treat civil aviation safety not as a footnote in a budget document but as a matter of national security. The DGCA must be made autonomous, answerable to a parliamentary body—not to the political bosses or airline owners. After all, transparency is not a courtesy. It is a duty. Until we stop flying blind—in aircraft, in governance, and in ethics—we will remain a country that mourns its citizens in silence but never learns why they died. (The author is former Chief Editor of The Hans India)
