Sipu Jha
NEW DELHI: For his family, Sumit Kapur was not defined by the jet crash that claimed his life, but by the warmth he carried into every room. To them, he was simply “Bunny” — a nickname that followed him from childhood into his final years. The 62-year-old pilot died in a charter aircraft crash in Maharashtra, leaving behind a family still struggling to absorb the suddenness of the loss.At the Punjabi Bagh crematorium in Delhi, more than 150 relatives, close friends and captains gathered, united by grief and memories of a man remembered as the heart of a close-knit west Delhi family.
Kapur was a career pilot who had spent a staggering 20,000 hours in the air. After schooling at Springdales and Air Force Bal Bharati, he travelled to Canada for advanced flight training.He was an important figure at Sahara Airlines in the early 1990s, where colleagues remember him as the “right hand” of the chairman. Later, after working at Jet Airways, his technical precision earned him the title of examiner for Boeing 737.“Being an examiner means you have reached the ultimate level in civil aviation,” explained a fellow captain who knew Kapur for 20 years. “He was responsible for the proficiency and training of other pilots. His knowledge truly set him apart from the crowd. He was a man of absolute precision.”For the past five years, Kapur had been associated with VSR Aviation. He is survived by his wife, his elderly father, son Shiv who is also a pilot with VSR and daughter Sanya who is married to a pilot. While Kapur often flew the Learjet with co-pilot Shambhavi who also died in the crash, Shiv would frequently fly the VSR Legacy jet with Shambhavi’s father, Vikram Pathak, who retired from the Indian Air Force.Despite his career, Bunny remained deeply grounded in his roots. His family’s story is the story of Delhi itself, originating in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, moving through Moradabad, and eventually settling in a family home on Panchkuian Road before moving to Rajouri Garden’s M-Block.For 40 years, neighbours watched Bunny grow from a lively boy into a seasoned commander. The caretaker of the house where Kapur had been living temporarily on rent, next to the family’s own home that has been under construction for over a year, recalled seeing him there just two days ago. The family was preparing to shift into their newly-built house soon.To his family, he was the man who could turn any gathering into a celebration. “Bunny was adored by everyone; he was just so jolly,” said his elder cousin sister who grew up alongside him, as she stood at the crematorium in tears clutching a memory that refused to fade. “I can still close my eyes and clearly remember how he used to dance to the tunes of Amitabh Bachchan songs,” she said. “He was a massive fan. He was always the one we looked forward to seeing at every function.“The timing of the tragedy has left the family in a state of shattered anticipation. The daughter of Kapur’s brother Varun is set to be married on Feb 20. The hotel is already booked, and the invitations sent. Bunny, who would have turned 63 this April, was meant to be the soul of the festivities.Instead of wedding songs, his peers and family members are now speaking out in his defence. At the crematorium, a captain who had previously worked with VSR expressed frustration over early speculation regarding pilot error.“Everyone is quick to blame the pilots, but there was no readback from Sumit in those final moments,” the captain stated. “In the two decades I’ve worked with him, I knew his precision. Something must have gone horribly wrong. This calls for a probe into the aircraft itself, the lack of navigational facilities, and the poor visibility at the Baramati runway. It is disheartening that the family has to deal with allegations while they are grieving.“He also noted the tragedy of Shambhavi’s passing, revealing she was only a week away from becoming a commander.Just a week ago, Kapur had called his friend for a routine catch-up. During that call, he spoke of a relaxing future. “He mentioned he was only two or three years away from retirement,” he recalled. “He just wanted to relax afterwards.”
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