Mortal remains of Air India Pilot Sumeet Sabharwal brought to Mumbai for last rites

Mumbai: The mortal remains of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of the Air India plane which crashed in Ahmedabad last week, were brought to Mumbai on Tuesday for his last rites, officials said. The casket carrying the remains of Sabharwal reached Mumbai airport by a flight in the morning and was then taken to his residence, located at Jal Vayu Vihar in Powai area, by his family members, an official said.

Several friends and relatives of Sabharwal (56) as well as local residents gathered outside his residence to pay homage. Businessman Niranjan Hiranandani and local MLA Dilip Lande were among those who visited Sabharwal's residence to pay respects to him. Sumeet Sabharwal's father Pushkaraj Sabharwal and other relatives were also seen paying homage. A hearse carrying the pilot's mortal remains later left for Chakala electric crematorium, the official said. The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. All but one on board the plane died along with 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex. The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier said in a statement. “The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (on June 12) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” the DGCA had said.