“Flying was his passion,” said Purav Shah, a childhood friend of Captain Habinder Singh Ahluwalia who died in the Air India plane crash at the Mangalore airport on Saturday morning. Ahluwalia, 40, was a co-pilot in the plane.
A resident of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Society, JB Nagar in Andheri east, Ahluwalia had aspired to become a pilot right from his childhood. “He always wanted to experience how it feels to fly,” said an emotional Shah who visited the Ahluwalia residence as soon as the news of the crash broke.
Ahluwalia’s two elder brothers manage their family business of manufacturing silencers for vehicles. They have a factory in Gujarat. The youngest of the four siblings, Ahluwalia decided to branch out and become a pilot.
Ahluwalia was in Mumbai two months ago when he met all his childhood friends to celebrate their guru’s birthday. After that he was based in Mangalore.
“He was a perfectionist. He was a responsible person too. Every time he had to fly, he would ensure that he got enough rest as he was responsible for the safety of so many people in the plane,” said another friend, adding that there was no room for error in any job done by him.
Born in 1969, Ahluwalia did his schooling from the Holy Family School in Andheri. He went to NM College, where he did his MCom. After finishing college, he joined the Juhu Flying Club.
“He had scored 95 per cent in the Air India entrance exam, which is said to be the highest score ever,” said a friend, who remembers Ahluwalia as a caring, down-to-earth person and the most eligible bachelor in their locality.
“His mother was looking for a bride for him but he liked his tension-free and simple bachelor life,” said a neighbour.
Before joining Air India in 2009, Ahluwalia had worked with the Jet Airways. “He had been flying for over 15 years and he absolutely loved his job,” added his friend.
