Exclusive | 'He Was A Capable Professional': Captain Sumit Sabarwal's Former Colleague Recalls His Experience

By Surabhi Gupta

New Delhi: The tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its way to London, has rocked the country and the aviation world.

Moments after departing from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon, the aircraft crashed onto the campus of a medical college located in Meghnadi Nagar area, resulting in 265 fatalities. Of the 242 passengers on board, 241 were killed, in addition to 24 people on the ground. Only one passenger, named Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash miraculously.

Captain Naresh Kumar Beri, a veteran aviator and former Air India pilot, with whom Captain Sumit Sabarwal, flying the ill-fated AI-171, flew as a co-pilot, mourned his loss.

“He was a very good boy and a good pilot and he had experience. His father was the Deputy Director at DGCA where he worked on pilot licensing in the 80s. Captain Sabarwal had 8,200 flying hours with First Officer Clive Kunder in the cockpit, who had 1,100 hours of experience," he said, adding both pilots were capable professionals and in the last moments of the ill-fated flight dealt with complicated and overwhelming technical difficulties.

According to Beri, Captain Sabarwal tried to maintain control as long as possible. “He must have handled both wings well, and that is the reason the aircraft didn’t nosedive but came down slowly like a fireball,” he said. However, once the aircraft stalled, with flaps and landing gear touching the ground and engines out of thrust, recovery was nearly impossible. “In the final moments, it lost lift completely and fell,” Beri said.

Suspected technical failures

Captain Beri outlined several plausible causes that investigators should examine including fuel flow disruption, electrical malfunction, or complete engine flame-out. “Either the engines flamed out or fuel couldn’t reach them due to a technical issue. As long as the engines had power, the plane stayed aloft. But once thrust was lost, it went down like a stone,” he told ETV Bharat.

Beri noted that fuel consumption for such aircraft is around 5,000 kilogram per hour, and the plane had sufficient reserves. “This wasn’t a case of fuel shortage, but possibly a failure in fuel delivery or electrical systems that control thrust.”

Beri also addressed the distress call made from the cockpit. “When a pilot says ‘Mayday, Mayday,’ it means there is an immediate and life-threatening emergency. That message clearly indicated the situation was catastrophic. This is the reason in this case also a call was made on an emergency. When 'mayday' is declared it means there is immediate danger. If the Captain had said mayday mayday, then it was an emergency," he said.

Clues from crash behavior

Passenger-recorded videos showed the plane climbing with its nose up and landing gear unretracted, a deviation from standard takeoff procedures. Beri stressed that this could have increased aerodynamic drag and reduced climb performance. “Normally, landing gear is retracted within five seconds of takeoff. If the pilots failed to do so, it suggests they were dealing with a critical distraction, likely engine failure or electrical fault.”

He emphasized that the Boeing 787, known as the Dreamliner, is among the safest aircraft in the world. “The Dreamliner has a 25–30 year service life. This one was just 11 years old and maintained regularly. The age of the aircraft is not a concern,” Beri asserted.

Could bird strike or fuel contamination be the culprits?

Bird strikes are often a leading cause of engine failure, but Beri downplayed the possibility given the conditions. “In such extreme summer heat, birds are rarely active in the higher altitudes at takeoff. It’s more likely a fuel contamination issue or electrical failure,” he said.

Aviation expert Subhash Goyal told ETV Bharat that while bird strikes can cause engine failure, especially if multiple large birds hit, no clear signs of such an incident are evident in this case. He said, “Such accidents also happen due to bird hit. But not just one bird, if at least 3 to 4 big birds collide, then also one engine will fail. Then the flight can be operated on the other engine. On several occasions, the wheel does not go up or down during take off or landing. But none of these reasons is visible on this accident at the moment.”

Safest Aircraft: Dreamliner 787

Goyal told ETV Bharat, “The Boeing Dreamliner 787 is the safest aircraft in the world. If it has to survive in water, it can operate for one minute. It has six power battery backup and has a triple redundancy system. Nobody is able to understand what could be the reason behind the mishap. Pilot error could one of them. The aircraft operates on fly by wire system and has very delicate computerized electronic parts. But by chance if there is a short circuit in even one wire, it affects the flight. This apart, the aircraft is loaded with fuel. If by chance there was no building, field or empty road, then fire would not have erupted after the crash and many lives would have been saved. But because it collided, fire started and such a major accident happened".

Talking about the lone survivor from the aircraft, Goyal said, “Ramesh Vishwas's survival is a miracle. It is possible that he might have escaped from the wings and might have seen dead bodies nearby and ran out to save himself. The reason for his survival will be known after investigation. His brother was in the row next to him but he did not survive.

The investigation ahead

The DGCA has launched an exhaustive investigation into the incident. Beri did not mince his words when he indicated that the truth will not come to light until the black box is analyzed. “The black box which is called DFDR and CVR records the sound of the cockpit. After checking all of that it will be known what the actual problem was. Until the frontline DFDR and CVR are analyzed everything is just speculation. But the fact that a Mayday was declared and the aircraft stalled mid-air indicates it was a mechanical systemic failure or somthing similar."

Meanwhile, Air India expressed sincere condolences to the families of the deceased with CEO N Chandrasekaran confirming his organization would provide full support to bereaved families and investigating authorities. "Our thoughts are with the families' of the victims. We assure that we will work with the DGCA and all investigating authorities to ensure full transparency," Chadrasekaran said in a written statement.

Enhanced inspections for Boeing 787-8 and 787-9

Th Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered enhanced maintenance inspections on Air India's Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet with Genx engines.

Starting June 15, Air India must perform one-time mandatory pre-departure checks on all such aircraft. This includes inspections of the fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressor, electronic engine control systems, fuel-driven actuators, and hydraulic systems serviceability and take-off performance parameters, before each flight.

Transit inspections will now include tip-to-tail flight controls checks until further notice. Additionally, the DGCA has ordered a completed power assurance test within the next two weeks and directed Air India to complete a comprehensive review of all repetitive technical snags in the previous 15 days.

Air India shall submit reports of all these checks to the DGCA for follow-up. The directive was issued by Jayanta Ghosh, Director of Airworthiness, with approval of the competent authority, after careful consideration, to serve as a precaution prior to further incidences.