šØPilotās Final Hero Move! FamilyāSaver Captain Sabharwalās Epic LastāMoment CallšØ
- MediaFx

- Jun 16, 2025
- 3 min read
TL;DR:Ā Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, piloting Air India flight AIā171 from Ahmedabad to London, made a heroic midāair decision on June 12, 2025āsending a "Mayday" call and steering the failing Boeing 787 away from a three-storey residential building, potentially saving dozens of families below. Sadly, the aircraft crashed into a medical college hostel, killing 241 onboard and 29 on ground, but communities credit him with their survival. This story explores his bravery, the tragic aftermath, and calls for social solidarity. āš„

š„µ Bro, this is wild!Ā Just seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad at around 1:39āÆPM on June 12, Captain Sabharwal realized both engines were failing and rang out a dire āMayday! Mayday!ā to ATC. The plane had reached only about 650 ft before starting to drop.
š« With less than a minute before impact, he made a crucial steering decisionāturning the doomed plane away from a threeāstorey apartment building, where all 18 families living below feel they owe their lives to his swift actions.
š One resident, Geeta Patni (48), shared: > āThe building was shaking⦠Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us.ā Another, Jahanvi Rajput, said: > āThanks to the pilot⦠we are alive.ā
š Tragic twistāthe plane crashed into BJ Medical Collegeās hostel mess, tearing through during lunch time. 241 people onboard and 29 people on the ground, including students and staff, lost their lives. Only one person from the flight survived.
š The medical community mourned tooā28 MBBS students and staff were killed.
šØāāļø Who was the man behind the controls? Captain Sabharwal, 54ā55 years old, had over 8,200 hours of flying logged and was the primary caregiver for his elderly father. He had been planning to step down soon to be with him. Colleagues from Mumbai fondly described him as "quiet and good.".
š¦ The black box has been recovered and is being analyzed, with experts from UK, US, Boeing, and India investigating.
š And yes, Captain Sabharwalās final radio words were that urgent āMayday! Mayday!ā sent just before the crash, per Aviation Secretary SK Sinha.
šµļøāāļø Families are still reelingāonly 80 of 242 onboard have been identified via DNA, 33 bodies returned, and only one black box found so far. DNA labs in Ahmedabad are working around the clock, even handling severe delays and emotional distress.
šø In response, Tata Group pledged ā¹1 crore compensation per victim and support for hostel rebuilding, and Adani group confirmed airport closure and full cooperation.
š„ Watch the pilotās final words:
š„ Key Highlights:
#Mayday call at 650āÆft as thrust failed
Captain steered away from those 18 families šØāš©āš§āš§
Crash into hostel = 241 + 29 confirmed dead
Heroic veteran pilot with 8,200āÆhr flight history
Black box + international experts aiding probe
DNA IDs still pending; relief & compensation ongoing
ā MediaFx Opinion (from a Marxist/socialist lens):
Yāall, this story is a classic of working class heroismāSabharwal was risking his life, for ordinary families in Gujarat. This isnāt about glorifying capitalism or Big Corpāitās a tale of sacrifice by someone who knew his duty not served the elites on board, but those powerless on the ground. And yet, we keep seeing slow, careless DNA processing, underfunded infrastructure, and families waiting in anguishāclassic neglect of working people by the state machinery. At least compensation is there, but can it fill the gaping hole left by government apathy?
We need real public accountability: better safety protocols, faster emergency response, stateāfunded counselling, and justice for working class victims left out of the narrative. š¹ā
š£ļø Tell us in the comments:Do you think schools and hospitals under flight paths should get more protection? Or should flight routes be changed entirely? Letās talk about whoĀ really bears the cost of commercial negligence.













































