Sole survivor of Air India crash 'still dreams he is on the plane'
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was the lone survivor from the plane, which crashed on June 12 in Ahmedabad, India.
The father-of-one, who had been in window seat 11A, stumbled out of the burning jet moments before it exploded, while all other 241 onboard – including his brother Ajay – were killed.
Family member Krunal Keshave, from Leicester, has now revealed the impact the tragedy has had on him: 'He can't sleep at night. He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly.
'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.'
Ramesh had been travelling back to the UK, but has since remained in India with his wife and son, who are supporting him as he tries to live a normal life.
Keshave added: 'He speaks, but he doesn't speak about the crash. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much.
'He is spending time at home with the family.'
Earlier this month, investigators looking into the Air India crash were trying to unravel a 'mistake' made by the pilots.
Assessments by US officials suggest the crash was not caused by problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The findings suggest that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines were turned off.
This then led to an apparent loss of thrust shortly after takeoff.
Pilots on aircraft use the switches to start the jet's engines, shut them down, or reset them in certain emergencies.
These switches would normally be on during flight, and it is unclear how or why they were turned off.
The US investigators have said that it is unclear whether the move was accidental or intentional, or whether there was an attempt to turn them back on, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If the switches were off this could explain why the jet's emergency-power generator—known as a ram air turbine, or RAT was activated before the aircraft crashed.
It's also been revealed that the captain of the Air India plane vowed to return home soon to look after his elderly dad.
Just hours before one of India's worst aviation disasters that killed 260 people, the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, had reportedly told the security guard in his apartment complex to look after his elderly father, who lived with him.
The captain, who had over 15,600 hours of experience in the cockpit, said: 'Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon.'
His colleagues have rallied around him after the preliminary crash report appeared to shift the blame over the crash onto the pilots.
Other Air India pilots have claimed that Sabharwal struggled with mental health issues.
The doomed plane was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese people.
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Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
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The Guardian
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Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Aviation expert questions ‘missing seconds' in Air India disaster report with timestamps that ‘don't match up'
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Following the preliminary report, questions have been raised over the intentions of the pilot of the Air India plane Captain Sabharwal, with some commentators believing the commercial flight was brought down deliberately. The veteran aviator, who had more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, is being looked into by investigators over suggestions he turned off the plane's fuel switches, causing it to lose power. But Captain Chinta blasted this theory and said: 'We're doing gross injustice to the pilots who are not there to defend themselves by guestimating and coming up with theories which are mere assumptions.' He added the key to solving the mystery of the doomed flight could lie with the fuel cut off switches and whether they can be turned off in any other way than manually. 'Those fuel switches went to cut off but the report doesn't mention anywhere that those, physically, those switches moved. That is what is the key to the entire theory. So, those switches, moved? We do not know. Yes, those shut off the fuel supply, which caused the engines to lose power? Yes. Why that happened, we do not know right now'. Internet star Captain Steve, joined in on the conversation with Piers Morgan and revealed that he believes one of the pilots was behind the crash. Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off, a preliminary report revealed Hoorifying footage showed the moment the plane crashed, with a massive fireball erupting in the horizon 'The only answer that really fits all of the parameters is that the fuel control switches, as they say in the report, transitioned from run to cut off. 'But that doesn't happen without human intervention, and anybody that operates those switches knows that they are spring-loaded into position. They have a detent to hold them there. They don't vibrate out of position. That's never happened…The only way you can move those switches is to put a hand on them and move them back and then move them back up.' But he has also called for more transparency. 'You know, what would solve all this Piers, would be if the people who wrote this report got in front of a camera and behind a microphone,' he said. Ed Pierson, Executive Director & Foundation for Aviation Safety and former Boeing worker, told Piers Morgan Uncensored that before concluding it was the pilot's fault all the possible system errors should be considered. 'There's a lot of things that need to be examined here, systems wise, before we again jump to the conclusion that this was a pilot making a mistake or even intentionally.' The doomed Air India flight crashed last month and killed 260 people. It had set off for London at 1:38pm and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing power and falling to the ground. Upon impact, it was engulfed by a huge fireball, claiming the lives of all but one person on board. Sources close to the investigation believe recordings of the conversation from the Boeing's black box support the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. Friends and colleagues also reject the idea Sabharwal was responsible, claiming he was a 'gentle soul' and an 'ace pilot' who had never been involved in any major incident prior to the crash. Neil Pais, 61, a former colleague of Sabharwal, told The Telegraph 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,' he added. '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.' Another colleague and close friend, Captain Kapil Kohal, said Sabharwal was a 'hero' with a 'gentle soul'. Despite his nickname of 'Sad Sack', given because of his 'melancholic eyes', Sabharwal was 'deeply charismatic and always ready to help,' he added. A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident' But the sadness noticed by his peers was resultant of a deeper tragedy. Sabharwal had struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother in 2022 and in the wake of her passing had separated from his wife and moved from Delhi to Mumbai, to be closer to his elderly father, Pushkaraj. Investigations into the tragic crash have reportedly begun to analyse Sabharwal's behaviour after 'several' Air India pilots allegedly confirmed he suffered from poor mental health. He is understood to have taken bereavement leave after his mother's death. Although it is believed that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash. Friends also revealed Sabharwal had considered retiring as a pilot to help care for his 90-year-old father full time.
