Air India pilot: ‘He was melancholic, but a hero to me'
The 56-year-old veteran pilot of the doomed Air India flight did not drink, never swore, was a committed captain and a doting son to his elderly father.
But underneath his 'melancholic eyes', he was weighed down by the death of his mother, navigating life after separating from his wife and wanted to quit the airline to spend more time at home.
Before the crash in June, where 260 people died just after take-off in Ahmedabad, he said to a security guard at his apartment complex: 'Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon.'
Sabharwal joined Air India in 1994 and has logged over 8,000 hours of flying time. He flew a Boeing 777 until he trained up between 2014 and 2015 to fly the newer Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Known among his peers for being calm under pressure, he had never been involved in any major incident in his career until June 12.
Neil Pais, 61, a former colleague of Sabharwal, said: 'He was one of the nicest people you could ever hope to fly with.
'He had absolutely no airs about himself, so humble, so respectful. Always a smile when he spoke to you. I never once saw him raise his voice or lose his temper. And yet he never compromised on work or safety. If there was an issue, he'd point it out, but always in the nicest possible way.'
Captain Kapil Kohal, a long-time friend and fellow Air India pilot, called Sabharwal 'sad sack' but remembered him as a 'hero' with a 'gentle soul'.
'He was my senior at flying school and later in Air India. We called him 'Sad Sack' because of his melancholic eyes, but he was deeply charismatic and always ready to help.'
Mr Kohal said it was Sabharwal's humility that distinguished him from his peers.
'Despite wearing four stripes, he never threw his weight around. He was quiet, reserved, and completely focused on flying.
'His room was immaculately clean,' he said of Sabharwal's lifestyle during training. 'Just two shirts, two T-shirts, two shoes, and a bag. That was it. He didn't drink, didn't curse, and spoke so softly that I'd sometimes ask him to repeat himself.'
Mr Kohal said Sabharwal was a mentor, not just a colleague. 'When I was assigned to shadow him, he explained flying concepts better than some instructors. He was a middle-class boy looking at the sky, saying, 'I want to be there.''
Sunil Lokhande, the security guard the Sabharwal's residence at Jal Vayu Vihar in Powai neighborhood of Mumbai, said: 'I can't forget that last moment, when he ran his hand through his hair, like he always did, and said, 'How are you Mr Lokhande. Please, take care of papa, and I will be back soon.
'He smiled and went away. You'd never guess he carried any sadness inside.'
He added: '[Sabharwal] would visit home for two or three days and take his father for an evening walk regularly. Buy vegetables and fruits. He would often share fruits with me and would give money to buy meals or tea.'
Three days before his death, Sabharwal told Pushkaraj, his father, that he was planning to resign from Air India and permanently return home to take care of him.
'He was actually considering early retirement in the next couple of years,' Mr Pais said. 'His father is very old, and he was going to look after him full time. That was the plan.'
He had struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother in 2022 and moved from Delhi to Mumbai, to be closer to his father. He had also separated from his wife.
According to a US assessment of the black box data, Sabharwal is likely to have cut off the fuel supply by moving the switches to the cut-off position before it glided down toward the ground and crashed in Ahmedabad.
Clive Kunder, the first officer who was flying the Boeing 787-8, questioned why the captain had moved switches to the cut-off position.
The assessment follows a preliminary report released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) that found that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines were turned off, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust at take-off.
Credit: X/@varun__2020/@karunspeak
The findings explain why the jet's emergency-power generator, known as a ram air turbine, appeared to have been activated moments before it plummeted to the ground.
All but one of 242 people on board the Dreamliner were killed when the aircraft plunged into a medical student halls of residents in a built-up suburb last month, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport.
While the initial report does not draw any conclusion, it has raised questions about the actions of two pilots.
Mr Kohol expressed frustration at reports blaming the pilots for the crash. 'Whatever the experts or media say, I know he stayed with that aircraft till the end. He followed every protocol. He was an ace pilot, and now, to me, a true captain.'
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CNN
31 minutes ago
- CNN
For the first time in modern history a capital city is on the verge of running dry
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Population growth, the climate crisis, and relentless over-extraction have depleted groundwater levels, experts say, and nearly half the city's boreholes have already gone dry. Raheela's family must pay for every drop of water, and watch how they use it carefully, sacrificing food and other essentials just to drink and bathe. 'We are deeply concerned,' she said. 'We hope for more rain, but if things get worse, I don't know how we'll survive,' she told CNN. It's an emergency that 'is not just a water issue,' warned Marianna Von Zahn, Mercy Corps' Afghanistan director of programs. 'It's a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a humanitarian emergency all in one.' Just three decades ago, Kabul's population was less than 2 million, but the toppling of the Taliban in 2001 led to an influx of migrants, lured by the promise of increased security and economic possibility. As its population grew, so did the demand for water. 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So they saved for six months, sacrificing food, to come up with 40,000 Afghanis ($550) to dig a well in their backyard. Yasin and his brother dug 120 meters before they could find any water – and while this water is free to use for all their basic needs, they can't drink it. 'It's not safe,' he said. 'Since we spent all our money on the well, we cannot afford to buy a water filter or purified water. Hence, we boil the well water for extended periods of time, let it cool and then drink it.' Up to 80% of Kabul's groundwater is contaminated, according to Mercy Corps, a consequence of widespread pit latrine use and industrial waste pollution. Diarrhea and vomiting are 'problems people experience all the time in the city,' said Sayed Hamed, 36, who lives with his wife, three children and two elderly parents in the northwestern Taimani district. 'We often get sick due to contaminated water either by drinking in someone else's house, in a restaurant, or even by brushing our teeth with the well water,' the government worker said. The crisis is further compounded by Kabul's vulnerability to climate change. 'We are getting more and more rain, but less and less snow,' said Najibullah Sadid, a water resource management researcher and member of the Afghan Water and Environment Professionals Network. 'That's impacting a city which has less infrastructure to regulate the flash floods… Snow was helping us, but now we have less, and that's harming us in terms of groundwater recharge.' If current trends continue, UNICEF predicts Kabul could run out of groundwater by 2030. Those without the means to dig hundreds of meters for water are at the mercy of private companies or must rely on donations. Rustam Khan Taraki spends as much as 30% of his income on water, mostly buying from licensed tanker sellers. But for families who can't afford to spend this much, the only option is to walk often long distances to mosques, which can provide water. Dawn sees Hamed, the government worker, lining up for hours at a nearby well to fill two buckets for his family. During the day, two of his children – 13 and nine years old – line up for a refill, sometimes skipping school to carry heavy buckets up their steep hill in the scorching sun. The crisis is taking a toll on the children's future, said Von Zahn from Mercy Corps. 'The hours that children should be spending in school, they are now basically spending on fetching water for their families.' she said. 'These harmful coping strategies further deepen the cycle of poverty and vulnerability for women and children.' 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That leaves the future of many living in Kabul in limbo. Years ago, when Raheela and her family moved to their current neighborhood, the rent was cheaper, the mosque had water and life was manageable, she said. Now, she doesn't know how much longer they can survive in city. 'We won't have any other choice but to be displaced again,' she said, 'Where will we go from here? I don't know.'
CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
For the first time in modern history a capital city is on the verge of running dry
As the sun rises over Kabul's parched mountains, a family's daily struggle to find water – and to make it last – is about to begin. The sound of water tankers rumbling through Raheela's neighborhood in the Afghan capital prompts the 42-year-old mother of four to rush out to the street to fill her family's battered buckets and jerrycans. The family's supply is always running low, she says, and every liter is expensive, stretching nerves and their budgets to breaking point. 'We don't have access to (drinking) water at all,' Raheela, who goes by one name, told CNN. 'Water shortage is a huge problem affecting our daily life.' Kabul is inching toward catastrophe. It could soon become the first modern capital in the world to run completely dry according to a recent report by Mercy Corps, a non-government organization that warns the crisis could lead to economic collapse. Population growth, the climate crisis, and relentless over-extraction have depleted groundwater levels, experts say, and nearly half the city's boreholes have already gone dry. Raheela's family must pay for every drop of water, and watch how they use it carefully, sacrificing food and other essentials just to drink and bathe. 'We are deeply concerned,' she said. 'We hope for more rain, but if things get worse, I don't know how we'll survive,' she told CNN. It's an emergency that 'is not just a water issue,' warned Marianna Von Zahn, Mercy Corps' Afghanistan director of programs. 'It's a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a humanitarian emergency all in one.' Just three decades ago, Kabul's population was less than 2 million, but the toppling of the Taliban in 2001 led to an influx of migrants, lured by the promise of increased security and economic possibility. As its population grew, so did the demand for water. 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Women shoulder much of this crisis — forced to walk for hours across Kabul just to fetch what little water they can, risking their safety under the Taliban's oppressive rule which prohibits them from going outside without a mahram, or male guardian. 'It is not easy for a woman to go out, especially under the current circumstances where women need to have male company from her family to be able to go out,' a 22-year-old Kabul resident, who did not want to disclose her name for safety reasons, told CNN. 'There are numerous difficulties for every woman or girl to go out alone to get water. They could be harassed or bothered on the way,' she said. CNN has contacted the Taliban for a response. Beyond the climate crisis, population growth and mismanagement, Kabul's water crisis is compounded by deep political turmoil. The Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led forces after nearly two decades of war, tipping the country to the brink of economic collapse as development and security assistance to the country froze. Since then, humanitarian aid – aimed at funding urgent needs through non-profit organizations and bypassing government control – filled some of the gap. But US President Donald Trump's decision earlier this year to halt foreign aid has further set back the country with crippling consequences. The freeze in US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds is 'one of the biggest impacts,' said Von Zahn from Mercy Corps. By early 2025, only about $8 million of the $264 million required for water and sanitation had been delivered. 'So what we're seeing is a dangerous mix: collapsing local systems, frozen funding, and growing regional friction — all while ordinary Afghans face a worsening crisis every day,' she said. That leaves the future of many living in Kabul in limbo. Years ago, when Raheela and her family moved to their current neighborhood, the rent was cheaper, the mosque had water and life was manageable, she said. Now, she doesn't know how much longer they can survive in city. 'We won't have any other choice but to be displaced again,' she said, 'Where will we go from here? I don't know.'
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Two men died in Colorado plane crash while flying recently purchased 'kit' plane back to Florida
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