Captain Sabharwal, a seasoned aviator with over 8,200 flight hours under his belt, was among the nine Mumbai-based crew members aboard the ill-fated Air India flight to London that crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
According to records from India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Sabharwal’s logged hours marked a highly experienced pilot — yet colleagues say his real flight experience far exceeded those figures.
They note that the DGCA’s digital systems likely underreport the full extent of his career in the skies.
“He was a quiet, diligent man,” said a fellow pilot who flew with him for years.
“He flew everything from the Airbus A310 to the Boeing 777, and of course, the Dreamliner. He never sought attention — just kept his head down and flew.”
A resident of Jal Vayu Vihar in Mumbai’s Powai, Captain Sabharwal had recently promised his 82-year-old father — himself a former DGCA official — that he would soon take time off to spend with him. That long-awaited visit will never happen.
Families of the crew were bracing for joyful calls from Heathrow. Instead, they were shattered by the devastating news of India’s deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade.
