Powai residents pay respects to AI pilot on his final journey
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Mumbai: Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's mortal remains arrived at his residence in Powai's Jal Vayu Vihar at 8:45 on Tuesday morning. A hush fell over the housing complex, with Air India crew, fellow aviators, and family and friends filing in quietly.
Residents of the locality gathered in clusters—some in grief, others in disbelief—outside the building where Capt Sabharwal (56) lived, the compound echoing with stories of the man they called "a thorough gentleman." From pilots who flew beside him to the crew that flew with him, neighbours who knew him simply as the kind man with a calm smile, all stood still in the moment.
"I can't tell you what a thorough gentleman he was," said Usha Talawdekar, a resident of Powai Park.
A retired Air India cabin crew member who served 37 years in the skies, she paused to compose herself outside the gates of Jal Vayu Vihar. "I've flown with him. Every request he made came suffixed with, 'whenever you get the time'. No ego. Never demanded respect. We all just loved him. And he was an ace pilot." Her eyes welled up again.
"Too early for him to go," she said, wiping her tears away. "Air India pilots are the best. They always know what they're doing."
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On June 12, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's final flight—AI171 from Ahmedabad to London—crashed seconds into the take-off. As the coffin was brought into Jal Vayu Vihar, his 92-year-old father, a former DGCA official, Pushkaraj Sabharwal—a widower—stood silently, flanked by his daughter, her sons, other family members, neighbours, and several pilots and cabin crew. Residents carried the coffin to the building's temple and offered their final prayers.
Savitri Budhania, an elderly resident, said, "It was just Saturday," she said, pointing to the path where he last walked. "He took prasad from my hands right there." Her voice broke. "I told him, 'Your father is too old to be alone.' And he said, 'Just one or two more flights… then I'm going to just be with Papa.'" She added softly, "Who knew this was going to be it. Whenever he wasn't flying, you'd find him walking hand in hand with his father in the evenings.
They would smile at everyone, just wonderful quiet people." The Sabharwals lived in Jal Vayu Vihar for 22 years.
Those from the aviation sector hoped that the details of what caused the crash are released soon. "We hope the report is accurate and acted upon so that no such tragedy takes place again. We have lost too many lives," said retired Captain S Krishnamurthy of the Indian Air Force, who lived three floors above Sabharwal.
Meanwhile in Goregaon, the remains of senior cabin officer Aparna Mahadik arrived at Oberoi Esquire apartment around 9pm. Senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare and his daughter Aditi, close relatives of the Mahadiks, led the mourners.
Over in Navi Mumbai, air hostess Maithili Patil (23) was cremated in Nhava village. Her parents performed the rituals without opening the coffin given that her remains were charred. Her younger sister was inconsolable and sobbed as she embraced her coffin. Two officials of Air India offered a wreath with a message that read, 'With Deepest Sympathy, From Air India Family'. BJP MLAs Prashant Thakur and Mahesh Baldi from Panvel and Uran attended.
(Inputs from George Mendonca, Umesh Parida & Shourya Avankhedkar)
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an hour ago
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