Shocking details are coming to light regarding the aviation disaster that occurred a few days ago in India, with many calling the pilot of the fatal Air India flight a “hero” after it appears he “saved dozens of lives”. We’re talking about Sumit Sambhaarwal, who at the last moment decided to change the aircraft’s course just seconds before the plane crashed into a building filled with medical students.
India plane crash hero pilot saves dozens of lives in final moment
Specifically, the pilot of the doomed aircraft changed course at the last moment to avoid an apartment building full of families. As a result, all 18 families in the three-story building are convinced they owe their lives to the pilot. Indian media reported that he had recently promised his father that he would retire from flying so he could return home and care for him full-time.
‘Hero’ India Air pilot ‘saved dozens of lives’ in final decision before crashhttps://t.co/3xa9VWLvG2 pic.twitter.com/hlEULtDWQg
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) June 16, 2025
A family friend, Lante, told India Today: “Sumit had spoken to him just three days earlier, telling him he wanted to leave flying and return home to care for him.” His colleagues, as a mark of respect, described Sambhaarwal as a “good, quiet man” who served as a mentor to younger pilots.
Shortly before the aircraft crash, the pilot sent a distress signal to air traffic control with the plane reaching an altitude of 207 meters before beginning a rapid descent. The aircraft destroyed the top two floors of an abandoned four-story military building, but the fire spread and destroyed the college dormitory, killing dozens of students and staff.
It should be noted that a total of 270 bodies have been recovered from the crash site in Ahmedabad, India, where the Air India aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff last Thursday (12/6). The search teams spent the weekend among the wreckage and burned debris of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and among the dead are 241 passengers and crew members, while the remaining victims are believed to have been inside the doctors’ dormitory or on the ground. It’s worth noting that only one person, 40-year-old Viswas Rames, a British passenger bound for London, miraculously survived the crash.
