A black-box recording indicates the captain of the flight remained calm while the first officer panicked
THE captain of the doomed Air India flight at the centre of a mental health probe was nicknamed “Sad Sack” in flight school, pals have revealed.
The latest analysis of the cockpit voice recording indicates it was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal who may have cut off the fuel supply to the engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – causing a catastrophic loss of thrust.
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Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the lead pilot in the doomed Air India flight
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Officials inspect the remains of the Air India passenger plane at the crash site near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in AhmedabadCredit: EPA
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One of the rear landing gears amid debris at the site of a plane crashCredit: EPA
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The plane seconds before disasterCredit: X
With over 15,000 flying hours — more than 8,000 on the Dreamliner — Captain Sabharwal had long been considered steady and reliable.
His pals described him as soft-spoken and precise – and said he eventually earned the nickname of “Sad Sack” because of his serious demeanour.
The senior pilot is said to have lived a simple life with minimal belongings.
“He was a very reserved guy right from the beginning,” said fellow pilot Kapil Kohal.
“He was a middle-class boy looking at the sky and saying, ‘I want to be there,’” Kohal said.
He was driven by a sheer love of flying, Kohal said, and showed a flair for mentoring younger students.
But in recent years, Sabharwal is said to have faced personal struggles.
He was reportedly just months from retirement, grieving his mother’s death and caring for his elderly father.
The pilot had been considering leaving the airlines early to look after his elderly father, The Telegraph revealed.
Savitri Budhania, a neighbour of Captain Sabharwal, said the pilot told her: “Just one or two more flights… then I’m going to just be with Papa.”
Ms Budhania told the Times of India that Captain Sabharwal was a gentleman who would often take his father out for evening walks.
She added: “Whenever he wasn’t flying, you’d find him walking hand in hand with his father in the evening.”
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Investigators are now said to be probing his medical records.
Sources familiar with the US officials’ assessment of the crash evidence told the Wall Street Journal that Captain Sabharwal reached out for the fuel cut switch.
A black-box recording of dialogue between him and first officer Clive Kunder revealed the junior pilot – who is thought to be in control of the flight at that stage – asked the more-experienced captain why he moved the switches to the “cutoff”.
The analysis also indicated that the first officer expressed surprise and then panicked.
While the captain of the flight – who was monitoring the operations and likely had his hands free – remained calm.
Early findings in a 15-page crash report released by the Indian authorities indicate switches to the engines’ fuel supplies were moved from the “RUN” position to “CUTOFF”.
It revealed the exchange between both pilots, but did not identify which comments were made by the flight’s captain and which were made by the first officer.
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A cockpit view of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft shows the fuel switch – Annotations by The Sun GraphicsCredit: Getty
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An image showing the fuel cut-off switches
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Clive Kunder was the co-pilot on the doomed flightCredit: Pixel8000
It said that it does not “identify the cause – whether it was crew error, mechanical malfunction, or electronic failure.”
Flipping the switches to cut off almost immediately cuts the fuel supply to the engines.
It is most often used to turn engines off once a plane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as an engine fire.
But the inconclusive report, which came after 30 days of the crash, does not indicate that the flight encountered any such emergency situation.
It is almost impossible to turn the switches off accidentally – they must be pulled up and locked before flipping – a safety design feature that was introduced decades ago.
Protective guards are further installed to minimise the risks – raising further questions as to why the fuel switches in the Air India flight were turned off.
Key findings of the initial crash report:
Dual engine shutdown – fuel cutoff switches moved from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’
Confusion between pilots – cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked ‘why did you cutoff’, the other replied ‘I didn’t’
RAT deployed – as seen in CCTV footage before the crash
Engine relight attempted – fuel switches were found returned to the “RUN” at crash site
32 seconds – the time the aircraft was airborne before it crashed
Thrust levers mismatch – Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged
Fuel test pass – fuel was clean without any contamination
Normal take-off set-up – Flaps and landing gear correctly configured
No bird activity – clear skies, good visibility, light winds
Pilot credentials clear – both medically fit and rested
No sabotage detected – although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India
Aircraft loading – the flight was within weight and balance limits
It is worth noting that the initial crash report points out that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2018 issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) – highlighting that a few Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged.
But it was not deemed unsafe, and no Airworthiness Directive (AD) – a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in a product – was issued.
A similar switch design is used in Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including Air India’s VT-ANB Dreamliner in question.
The FAA and Boeing have now privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, according to four sources and a document seen by Reuters.
The report said Air India had said it had not carried out the FAA’s suggested inspections, as the FAA 2018 advisory was not a legal mandate.
But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 242 passengers on board – including 53 Brits – smashed into a doctors’ hostel in Ahmedabad in the west of India.
The plane was headed to London Gatwick when it crashed just seconds after take-off, killing all but one passenger.
You’re Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
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Landing gear of the Air India plane crashed directly on the BJ Medical College UG hostel messCredit: x/mitrapredator
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Search and rescue teams respond to the scene of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, IndiaCredit: AP
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Vishwash Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, poses for the first time since the disasterCredit: Dan Charity
