Actor Ajay Singh Chaudhary remembers neighbour, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal the co-pilot of ill-fated AI171 flight

On the day of the crash, Ajay was taking pictures for his TV present when his mom referred to as to interrupt the information: “In a shaky voice she told me, ‘Pilot Sumeet was in that flight…’ and broke down. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. You never truly believe such things can happen to anyone until that person is one of your own.”

He shares that days earlier than the crash, his mom, who’s a part of an area yoga group, met Sumeet throughout a morning stroll in Mumbai. Sumeet talked about he’d be flying to Ahmedabad in three days, then onwards to London.

Ajay admitted it was troublesome to go to Sumeet’s bereaved father. “There was a profound silence in their home without Sumeet’s presence. Log aa rahe hain, jaa rahe hain, phir bhi sab khamosh hai. It’s difficult to talk to his father as he cries and then sits looking in the void. Thankfully the captain’s sister and her kids are with him. Our [housing] society has families from the forces. It’s like one big family, and we will stand by him. But nothing makes up for his loss,” concludes Ajay.