Ahmedabad Plane Crash: He had 9,300 hours of flight experience, yet he could not avert tragedy, meet captain of doomed Air India flight

It was a normal day for Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was assigned to take the Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight under his wings and land the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aeroplane with more than 250 passengers and crew members safely in London. He had performed this job many times before, and the man with 8,300 hours of flight experience was confident of doing it once again. However, it was not his day and he was running out of luck. The wide-bodied plane crashed only seconds after the take-off and fell on the hostel building of a medical college in the city. 

Thousands of dreams shattered!

It was not only a plane crash. Thousands of dreams of the hundreds of people onboard were also shattered. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal promised his nonagenarian father that he would quit his job, stay at home, and take care of him in his old age. Captain Sabharwal's father retired from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and was fully dependent on his son. A neighbor told Hindustan Times, "Whenever he flew out, Sumeet would ask us to keep an eye on his father. He has now been left devastated." The inconsolable father is yet to fathom his loss and tragedy. 

Who was Clive Kunder?

Captain Sabharwal was assisted on the flight by Co-pilot and First Officer Clive Kunder. With 1,100 hours of flying experience, Kunder comes from a family of aviation enthusiasts, with his mother being a former Air India flight attendant. He was the son of actor Vikrant Massey's uncle Clifford Kunder. Condoling the death, the "12th Fail" actor said, "My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today." He added, "It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the first officer operating on that fateful flight. May god give strength to you and your family, uncle and to all deeply affected."

The Mayday Call!

Despite the flight being flown by pilots with 9,500 hours of experience, the Dreamliner crashed seconds after taking off. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has confirmed that Captain Sabharwal, issued a "Mayday" call to Air Traffic Control shortly before the plane lost contact. A "Mayday" call is a distress signal sent to indicate a life-threatening emergency.

The Unfulfilled Promise!

The official data of the people killed in the crash is yet to be known, but it can be said safely that more than 250 people have died. An investigation has been launched, Air India and Boeing have promised to cooperate in the probe, and compensation for the relatives of those killed in the crash has been announced. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal failed to keep the promise he made to his father. 
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