Friend remembers pilot who died after landing flight: ‘Life of parties, a football enthusiast…’

According to Lav, Chaudhary was a “fantastic” football player. “He used to play for his school’s team and he was always a striker. But around a decade ago, due to some injury, he shifted to playing cricket. We used to play on and off even now,” he said.

A student of DPS RK Puram, Chaudhary was always sure that he wanted to become a pilot. “Most children are very confused about what they want to do when they grow up. But not him, he was extremely passionate about flying and wanted to be a pilot,” shared Lav.

Obviously, like most pilots, Chaudhary was also obsessed with the Hollywood movie Top Gun, his friend said.

“He also had many friends due to his kind nature. He had a friend circle of football enthusiasts and a school group. I realised this when so many friends of Armaan would turn up at parties,” recounted Lav.

On April 9, the pilot vomited in the cockpit after landing, sources said.

“The captain landed the flight safely in Delhi, after which there was a medical issue. He was subsequently taken to a Delhi hospital, where he was declared dead,” a source earlier said.

In an official statement issued after his death, Air India Express did not point to the exact cause of the death. “We deeply regret the loss of a valued colleague due to a medical condition. Our thoughts are with the family during this time of profound grief. We are extending all possible assistance to them as we all cope with this tremendous loss,” a spokesperson said.

According to a source, Chaudhary was flying within the ‘flight duty time limitations of the civil aviation regulations’. “A pilot cannot fly more than 35 hours in seven days. Captain Armaan had flown 11 hours in the last seven days,” the source said.

“India’s aviation community is in mourning following the tragic and untimely death of Captain Armaan Chaudhary, a young commercial airline pilot whose life ended far too soon under circumstances that raise troubling questions about pilot welfare, mental health, and working conditions in the Indian aviation industry,” a statement from Airline Pilots’ Association of India said.