‘Hero' India Air pilot ‘saved dozens of lives' with last gasp decision moments before doomed jet's horror crash
THE India Air pilot was hailed a hero yesterday by locals when he diverted the doomed jet at the last second to avoid their apartment block.
All 18 families in the three-storey building under the flight path are convinced they owe their lives to
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India Air pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was hailed a hero
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The burnt out building at the site of the crash
Credit: Dan Charity
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Captain Sabharwal diverted the doomed jet at the last second to avoid an apartment block
Credit: Dan Charity
But with feet to spare, he managed to divert the plane carrying 242 passengers and crew towards a patch of grassland.
The locals raced from their homes in Ahmedabad when a fireball from 90 tons of aviation fuel ignited as the plane slammed into the ground next to a medical college.
The plane obliterated the top two floors of a disused four-storey military building.
And the fire tore through the college's hostel, killing dozens of students and staff who were having lunch in the canteen.
Read More on World News
All but one of the
He was the main carer for his father, now in his 80s, who he called before take-off.
Colleagues paid tribute to Captain Sabharwal from
Most read in The Sun
Mum Geeta Patni, 48, who is one of the closest residents to the crash site, told The Sun: 'The building was shaking. We were so scared.
'There was chaos in the street and fire and smoke.
What caused the Air India plane disaster? Six main theories emerge – from mystery over landing gear to 40C weather
'Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us.
'We have always worried this might happen because the planes go over so low.'
Another resident, Jahanvi Rajput, 28, said: 'Thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal we survived. He's a hero. It is because of him we are alive.
'The green space next to us was visible to him and that's where he went.'
Mum-of-two Chancal Bai, 50, said: 'If the plane had crashed into this residential area, there would have been hundreds more victims.'
All of the bodies from the site have been recovered with just 32 indentified so far.
British and American experts have joined India's National Disaster Response Force to scour the area.
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Clive Kunder was the co-pilot on the doomed flight
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Hundreds of desperate relatives have been gathering for news of loved ones at the local Civil Hospital.
The first funeral service for a British victim was held yesterday, for Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 42, of Hounslow,
Her uncle Joseph Patelia said: 'Before take-off, she called her father to say she'd boarded safely and would call once she landed in London. That call never came.
'She vanished, leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we're hearing.'
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The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Hero' India Air pilot ‘saved dozens of lives' with last gasp decision moments before doomed jet's horror crash
THE India Air pilot was hailed a hero yesterday by locals when he diverted the doomed jet at the last second to avoid their apartment block. All 18 families in the three-storey building under the flight path are convinced they owe their lives to 5 India Air pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was hailed a hero 5 The burnt out building at the site of the crash Credit: Dan Charity 5 Captain Sabharwal diverted the doomed jet at the last second to avoid an apartment block Credit: Dan Charity But with feet to spare, he managed to divert the plane carrying 242 passengers and crew towards a patch of grassland. The locals raced from their homes in Ahmedabad when a fireball from 90 tons of aviation fuel ignited as the plane slammed into the ground next to a medical college. The plane obliterated the top two floors of a disused four-storey military building. And the fire tore through the college's hostel, killing dozens of students and staff who were having lunch in the canteen. Read More on World News All but one of the He was the main carer for his father, now in his 80s, who he called before take-off. Colleagues paid tribute to Captain Sabharwal from Most read in The Sun Mum Geeta Patni, 48, who is one of the closest residents to the crash site, told The Sun: 'The building was shaking. We were so scared. 'There was chaos in the street and fire and smoke. What caused the Air India plane disaster? Six main theories emerge – from mystery over landing gear to 40C weather 'Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us. 'We have always worried this might happen because the planes go over so low.' Another resident, Jahanvi Rajput, 28, said: 'Thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal we survived. He's a hero. It is because of him we are alive. 'The green space next to us was visible to him and that's where he went.' Mum-of-two Chancal Bai, 50, said: 'If the plane had crashed into this residential area, there would have been hundreds more victims.' All of the bodies from the site have been recovered with just 32 indentified so far. British and American experts have joined India's National Disaster Response Force to scour the area. 5 Clive Kunder was the co-pilot on the doomed flight 5 Hundreds of desperate relatives have been gathering for news of loved ones at the local Civil Hospital. The first funeral service for a British victim was held yesterday, for Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 42, of Hounslow, Her uncle Joseph Patelia said: 'Before take-off, she called her father to say she'd boarded safely and would call once she landed in London. That call never came. 'She vanished, leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we're hearing.'
The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Shocked Brit dad reveals how he cheated death on doomed Air India flight after last minute change of plans
A BRITISH dad has told of his shock after he was originally due to fly home on the doomed Air India flight - but changed his plans. Owen Jackson, 31, from Saffron Walden in Essex, had been on a work trip to India and scheduled to jet back on Thursday. 7 Owen Jackson, with wife Phillipa, had been on a work trip in India when he decided to take a different flight home Credit: Supplied Businessman Owen, who was in the country for the first time to help train colleagues in a call centre, had to decide between flying back on Thursday or Saturday. In the end his colleagues said to take the Saturday flight as the job would take a bit longer than originally planned. He was then booked onto the same route on Saturday which would have been the same aircraft as the one which crashed, In a bizarre coincidence, Owen was booked onto Read More on UK News It is the same seat number as the sole survivor of the devastating crash, Owen told The Sun: 'It's a shock. I'm more grateful than anything else - it is such a weird coincidence. 'You hear it every now and again about planes going down and you don't really think much of it, but when it's the actual aircraft you're potentially getting on two days later, it does make you think. 'My main emotion on the whole thing is I'm quite grateful for the fact that I made that decision when I did.' Most read in The Sun When news first broke of the crash, Owen had not told his family back home which day he was due to fly back on. Wife Phillipa, 30, spent two hours unsure whether her husband had perished in the crash, as he had not informed her he had changed his plans. Owen said: 'I hadn't checked my phone two hours after it happened, after the news broke. I probably was one of the last people to find out about it, funnily enough, because I was in meetings exactly when the news was breaking.' Phillipa said: 'It was surreal. It was like being in a dream, but not actually just hoping to wake up, but pinching yourself over and over again and not waking up. 'I work with children, so I was kind of teaching at the time and just trying to not let them see or know what I was feeling. 'I still feel affected by it now, to be honest with you, for days. I was just bursting into tears randomly. 'The way we felt is nothing compared to how the victims and their families are actually feeling, my heart really goes out to them, it's just awful.' 7 7 The plane seconds before disaster with its landing gear still extended Credit: x/nchorAnandN 7 It then crashed in a fireball at a doctor's hostel Credit: x/nchorAnandN 7 Firefighters work at the site of the crash near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad Credit: EPA 7 People stand near debris at the crash site Credit: EPA 7 Crews search and clear the wreck Credit: EPA
The Journal
12 hours ago
- The Journal
Families hold funerals for relatives who died in Air India plane crash
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