Air India: Colleagues of Late Pilot Open Up About His Medical Record after Plane Crash
- Investigators probing the Air India crash in Ahmedabad are scrutinising the medical records of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal
- His medical history includes claims of struggles with depression and mental health issues, and bouts of medical leave
- The investigation is examining all factors, including the pilot's medical history, as it seeks to determine what caused the crash
A devastating aircraft accident in Ahmedabad has caused investigators to scrutinise the medical history of the pilot.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, had accumulated over 15,000 flying hours and was nearing retirement before his demise.
Source: UGC
Medical records of Air India pilot surface
The investigation, as reported by The Telegraph, claimed that Captain Sabharwal had undergone a Class I medical examination on September 5 of the previous year.
His medical records were subsequently handed over to the investigators who are bent on finding out the cause of the crash.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a prominent aviation safety expert in India, stated that he had received information from several Air India pilots suggesting Captain Sabharwal had experienced depression and mental health issues.
Ranganathan stated:
"I have heard from several Air India pilots who told me he had some depression and mental health issues. He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years. He had taken medical leave for that."
Captain Sabharwal had also taken bereavement leave following the death of his mother in 2022, after which he had considered leaving the airline to care for his elderly father.
Meanwhile, the Airline Pilots' Association of India has expressed its disapproval of the inquiry's 'tone and direction'.
Source: UGC
Air India pilot's health under scrutiny
Ranganathan also noted that Captain Sabharwal would have received medical clearance from Air India doctors, stating:
"He must have been medically cleared by the company [Air India] doctors. They must have given the clearance certificate."
Preliminary investigation report indicated that the switches controlling fuel flow to the aircraft's engines were turned off, resulting in a significant loss of thrust during takeoff.
A cockpit voice recording showed that one pilot questioned the other about cutting off the fuel supply, to which the other pilot responded that he had not.
The investigation has drawn attention to the actions of both Captain Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar.
The accident resulted in the loss of 241 lives when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical student hostel shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport.
A post by Daily Mail about the investigation into the pilot is below:
Reactions to Air India pilot's medical history
TikTok users shared their opinions in the comments section.
@yousuf_anthar reacted:
"Don’t attack me but how did his mental health cause the two engines to fail??"
@Finney I am strong emotional said:
"It’s not the pilots fault. The plane already had technical issues and was not properly dealt with."
@Juanes said:
"Ok but why does everything start making sense after reading "The Secret Side of This Reality" by Dean West it changed my life fr."
@levisniceguy said:
"People blame boeing, but same story happened with German Wings when co-pilot intentionally locked himself in the cabin and crashed the plane, and noone doubted about airbus. But when the same story happens with boeing, they blame boeing."
@KevKev said:
"If he was depressed and had mental health issue,why was he given the license by Air India to fly and bring lots of lives on his hands. Don’t just blame the pilots, regardless whatever they too lost their life start focusing on the other boeing planes that also crashed. See to that don’t only focus on the pilots now truly sad."
@Jasmin added:
"You lot need to understand that these big CEOs will blame every other thing for being the reason for the crash expect their own mechanical failure or whatever that has to do with their production going wrong."
Ahmedabad crash victims' family member disappointed
Meanwhile, a man who lost four of family members in the plane crash said he was disappointed in the preliminary report.
Imtyaz Ali described the report as reading 'like a product description', as investigations into the tragedy continue.
Small plane crashes, claims lives
Legit.ng previously reported that a small plane crashed into a commercial building in Fullerton, California, resulting in two fatalities and injuring several others.
The pilot had reportedly requested an emergency landing at Fullerton Municipal Airport shortly after takeoff, but the crash occurred before this could happen.
Joseph Omotayo, the HOD of the Human Interest Desk, contributed to this report, referencing the story of a man who lost four family members to the crash.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
