A man who was able to gain entry into a hospital morgue reportedly claimed that the body of the pilot from the ill-fated AI 171 flight was found seated upright, with his uniform largely intact.
Pilot Sumeet Sabharwal's body was placed in a corner of the morgue, a little away from where the passengers' bodies were being placed. The captain had suffered severe burns on the back of his body and was clutching the aircraft’s steering column. The controls may have become separated during the impact of the crash or were removed whilst getting Sabharwal's body out, reports said.
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It was Romin Vohra who gained access to the morgue to identify his three relatives who had boarded the flight that crashed minutes after take-off. His history of serving as a pathology lab assistant at the hospital helped him gain entry, unlike many others in distress.
Romin Vohra told the Daily Mail that Captain Sabharwal remained in a seated position, with the front side of his white uniform shirt largely intact. He told the daily that he had seen the gold stripes on the late pilot's shoulders, his dark tie and trousers intact, along with his shoes.
However, many of the deceased passengers suffered burn injuries that made it impossible to identify them. He also claimed to have seen skulls and severed limbs being lined up.
The air disaster that shocked the world
One of the worst aircraft accidents in India, a total of 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI 171 to London Gatwick, crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.
The flight had a total crew of 12 for the nine-hour-plus journey. It was headed by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal (55), who had been with the airline for three decades. He hailed from the Powai suburb of Mumbai.
The DGCA said Captain Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of experience, and First Officer Kundar had 1,100 hours of flying experience. "As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST from runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC.
The aircraft, immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell to the ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site," the civil aviation authority said in a statement.
