@the_news_21
Mumbai: In an Air India Express flight crash at the Karipur Airport in Kozhikode around 18 people lost their lives and one among them was pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe who saved the lives of many passengers who were onboard.
Deepak was an experienced aerial operator with 36 years of flying experience. A pass out of NDA, topper in the 58th course and an awardee of ‘Sword of Honour’, he served Indian Air Force for 21 years before joining as a Commercial Pilot with Air India in 2005.
He survived an air crash in the early nineties when he was in the Air force. He was hospitalised for 6 months for multiple skull injuries and nobody thought that he would fly again. But his strong will power and love for flying made him clear the test again.
He leaves behind his wife and two sons, both pass outs of IIT Mumbai. He is a son of Brigadier Vasant Sathe who stays in Nagpur along with his wife. His brother, captain Vikas, was also an Army man who laid his life while serving in Jammu region during the Kargil war.
Talking about the crash, 162 people have been injured. 15 of them are in serious condition. Rescue operations at the site have been completed and all injured persons have been admitted to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode. There were 191 people including 10 infants, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew onboard the aircraft.
DGCA said, the Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express flight fell 35 feet from the hilltop runway after landing at Karipur Airport and broke down in two pieces. While the two pilots are among the dead, four-cabin crew members on board the aircraft are safe. It is believed that heavy rains in Kerala could be one of the reasons behind the mishap. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, two investigation teams of professionals from Air India, Airports Authority of India and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have been rushed to Kozhikode.
