The spotlight of attention continues to probe the life of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, after it was suggested that he intentionally cut the fuel supply to the doomed Air India Flight 171 on June 12.
Last week–mere days after India’s civil aviation authority released a document reporting one pilot asking the other why he had cut off the fuel supply–it was learned that Sabharwal’s understudy, First Officer Clive Kunder, had his hands full with the throttle.
The ensuing analysis pointed out that Sabharwal, the senior pilot on deck, was unoccupied and highlighted his freedom to toggle the fuel switches.
Since these observations, colleagues and others close to the man have come to his defense, but it has also been discovered that he had suffered more than one life-changing disappointment in the last three years of his life.
Friends have been coming to Captain Sumeet Sabharwal’s defense since the speculation about him surfaced
One person to weigh in on the commercial aircraft captain was 61-year-old Neil Pais.
After an interview, British outlet The Telegraph reported the former colleague saying on July 18 that Sabharwal “had absolutely no airs about himself.”
Pais further described the man “as so humble, so respectful” and “always [had] a smile when he spoke to you.”
“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.”
Sabharwal earned the name “sad sack,” and it may have hinted at more than just his appearance
A report by Bored Panda corroborated Pais’ assertions when it quoted a friend of Sabharwal’s, Kapil Kohal, saying that he was “very polite, never cursed, never drank alcohol, and spoke so softly” that sometimes Kohal had to ask him to speak louder.
“If you open his cupboard, there were two formal shirts, two T-shirts, two pairs of shoes, one slippers, and one bag,” Kohal recalled of their school days together.
“He was a very reserved guy right from the beginning,” Kohal further noted Sabharwal’s downward slanted eyes and indicated that it was this only that earned him the nickname “Sad sack.”
But new information has emerged indicating that there was perhaps more to the moniker than just his appearance.
Air India notes that he was “medically cleared,” but not everyone agreed with this assessment
Amidst the ongoing spat between American experts and media outlets and the Federation of Indian Pilots, investigators have started probing Sabharwal’s background, and have since found that his mother’s passing in 2022 had weighed heavily on him.
He would take bereavement leave and, upon his return, separate from his wife so that he could live closer to his ageing father, Pushkaraj, according to the Daily Mail.
Reports indicate that he had been “medically cleared” before the crash.
A new video from the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad has emerged, showing Vishwas, the sole survivor in the accident, walking away from the crash site. 😥pic.twitter.com/yERCC30joF
— Pookie Blunders (@TheGemsofX) June 16, 2025
Despite Kohal and Pais’ defense of the pilot with 8,200 cockpit hours to his name, reports have been cited of other pilots claiming that Sabharwal had indeed suffered from mental problems.
He made a promise to the guard after asking him to look after his father
The probe has taken investigators to Sabharwal’s father’s house.
They spoke to the security working at the location and found that he would stay with his dad for “for two or three days” at a time and take him for evening walks.
Investigators learned of Sabharwal’s mild manners there, too, where he would give the security food and share fruit and vegetables with him regularly.
But another piece of information has come to light in the discussions with the guard that flies in the face of the s*icide-by-pilot theory that the media so favors.
That last time he left his father’s lodgings, he reportedly told the guard: “Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon.”
And this was mere hours before Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight 171 operated by Air India came crashing down and was consumed in fire after only 32 seconds of flight.
A faction of the internet is not buying it
One person disfavoring the probe into Sabharwal showed their displeasure with the probe into the man the man’s background saying:
“Sure. Its “always” pilot’s fault. Never airplane maintenance. Maybe because of possible compensation payments to victims relatives?
“He left his life to look after his elderly dad was even looking into retiring to look after him full time so why would he do anything untoward knowing it would leave his elderly dad alone with no care, it makes no sense,” protested another.
Another user weighed in with rather revealing statement when he said:
“Flew Boeings for nearly 35 yrs….retired on the 777. Never had a FUEL/CUTOFF switch ever move by itself or even heard of such a thing.”
Some see it as “conveniently” the pilot’s fault
