‘Take care’: Pilot’s last words before doomed Air India flight

New details about the captain of Air India flight 171 have emerged as speculation continues about what caused the tragedy.

The lead pilot in the Air India plane disaster said he would “be back soon” as he left for work on the day flight 171 crashed, killing 260 people.

Speculation has mounted about Captain Sumeet Sabharwal after the probe into the June 12 crash indicated switches controlling fuel flow to the plane’s engines were turned off shortly after takeoff.

Some experts who have reviewed the initial report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) believe a pilot on board moved the switches.

Fingers have been pointed at Captain Sabharwal because his younger co-pilot, Clive Kunder, would have had his “hands full” while flying the plane.

It has led to claims the tragedy was a case of “suicide by captain”, with Sky News aviation expert Captain Byron Bailey saying the switches were turned off at the “perfect time” to cause a crash.

But a new report from The Telegraph has revealed Captain Sabharwal’s last words to a security guard at his apartment complex suggested no hint of the looming disaster.

“Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon,” he reportedly said.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8200 hours of flying experience. Picture: Supplied

First Officer Clive Kunder, from Mumbai. Picture: Supplied

The security guard, Sunil Lokhande, told the UK newspaper: “He smiled and went away. You’d never guess he carried any sadness inside.”

Friends have also revealed Captain Sabharwal was considering an early retirement from flying in order to care of his elderly father, who lived at the same apartment block.

“His father is very old, and he was going to look after him full time. That was the plan,” former colleague Neil Pais said.

Mr Pais said Captain Sabharwal had absolutely “no airs about himself” and “always (wore) 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,” he said.

“If there was an issue, he’d point it out, but always in the nicest possible way.”

Fuel control switches to the engines of the Air India flight were cut off. Picture: Vijay Patani/AFP

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying from Ahmedabad in western India to London plummeted shortly after takeoff, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground.

The AAIB’s report found that both engine fuel “cut off” switches flipped to the off position almost simultaneously, starving the engines of fuel and causing the plane to lose thrust and crash. It also suggested microchip malfunction caused the issue, not human error.

The first was moved three seconds after lift off and the other one second later, the AAIB report found, before being turned back on a further 10 seconds later.

Rescue officials carry a victim's body at the site. Picture: Sam Panthaky/AFP

But an assessment by US officials of the AAIB report and black-box material, according to the Wall Street Journal, pointed the finger at a pilot.

Captain Bailey told Sky News the co-pilot Mr Kunder would have been occupied flying the plane, leaving the senior pilot monitoring the flight – Captain Sabharwal – as the only one capable of moving the mechanical switches.

“They require absolute physical effort to lift the switch up, raise it over … and back down. So it had to be done by one of the pilots,” he said.

“What is very obvious to pilots is, three seconds after lift off is the perfect time to have done this.”

The tailpiece of Air India flight AI171 after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad. Picture: Central Industrial Security Force/AFP

Campbell Wilson, chief executive of Air India, last week told staff in a memo the investigation was “far from over”.

Mr Wilson said “over the past 30 days, we’ve seen an ongoing cycle of theories, allegations, rumours and sensational headlines, many of which have later been disproven”.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association said on Sunday it was “deeply disturbed by speculative narratives” surrounding the Air India crash “particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide”.

“There is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage,” it said in a statement, adding, “it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved.”

“To casually suggest pilot suicide without verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession,” it said.

The comments came after media reports questioned the senior pilots mental health history, including that he had taken leave in recent years due to personal reasons.