His cousin Nilesh Sathe pours his heart out in an emotional Facebook post on how the ex-Indian Air Force pilot made three empty rounds of the airport to drain fuel which saved the plane from catching fire, subsequently saving more lives.
@vipulbv
Mumbai: Once a soldier is always a soldier and he thinks about fellow countrymen life before self, It was once again evident from the plane crash incident on Friday night Captain Dipak Sathe, pilot of the Air India Express plane that crashed during landing at the Kozhikode International Airport was one of such soldier, who before jumping to death, tried to save as many life as possible. This is what his cousin Nilesh Sathe an ex-insurance advisor said in an emotional post on Facebook explains that how late Captain Dipak Sathe did his best to reduce the damage.
Nilesh Sathe writes that, “It’s hard to believe that Dipak Sathe, my friend more than my cousin, is no more. He was the pilot of Air India Express carrying passengers from Dubai in ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, which skidded off the runway at the Kozhikode International Airport yesterday night.”
He explains what happened on the basis of available media reports can be learnt from the incident:
Landing gears didn’t work. So the ex-IAF pilot made three rounds of airport to empty the fuel which saved plane from catching fire. That’s why there was no smoke seen coming from the crashed aircraft.
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He turned off the engine right before the crash. He belly landed after the third iteration. The right wing was ruptured. The pilot martyred but saved life of 180 co-passengers.
What Nilesh Sathe said in his Facebook post, “Dipak was an experienced aerial operator with 36 years of flying experience. A pass out of National Defence Academy (NDA), a topper in the 58th course and an awardee of ‘Sword of Honour’, Dipak served in the Indian Air Force for 21 years before joining as a Commercial Pilot with Air India in 2005.
“He had called me just a week before and was jovial, as always. When I asked him about the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, he was proud of bringing back our countrymen from Arab countries. I asked him, “Dipak, do you carry empty Aircraft since those countries are not allowing entry of passengers?” He had replied,” Oh! No. We carry fruits, vegetables, medicines etc. to these countries and never the aircraft flies to these countries empty.” That was my last conversation with him. He survived in air crash in early nineties when he was in the Air force. He was hospitalized for 6 months for multiple skull injuries and nobody thought that he will fly again. But his strong will power and love for flying made him clear the test again. It was a miracle.”
He leaves behind his wife and two sons, both pass outs of IIT Mumbai. He is a son of Colonel 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 the Jammu region.
In his post Nilesh also shares a poem by a soldier which goes like this:
If I die in a war zone,
Box me up & send me home
Put my medals on my chest,
Tell my Mom I did the best
Tell my Dad not to bow,
He won’t get tension from me now,
Tell my brother to study perfectly,
Keys of my bike will be his permanently
Tell my Sis not to be upset,
Her Bro will not rise after this sunset
And tell my love not to cry,
“Because I am a soldier Born to Die…”
Tags: Air India, Captain, Dipak Sathe, Nilesh Sathe, Crash, Plane, Soldier, Vipul Vaidya, Pilot, Ex-Air Force, saves life,
I raised safety concern: pilot Anand Mohan Raj
A day after 18 people were killed in a plane crash in Kerala’s
Kozhikode, a pilot who claims to work for IndiGo said he shared
specific safety concerns with authorities about the tabletop runway at
the Karipur airport. In a Facebook post that has gone viral, pilot
Anand Mohan Raj claimed that the airport’s “runway guidance lighting
system is very poor” and “braking conditions is not monitored
regularly (sic)”.
He also wrote that it’s a nightmare for pilots to land on a tabletop
runway, especially at night and under heavy rain and wind conditions.
“Have made feedback to the concerned authorities’ right after many
landing in the last years. Safety is the first word in aviation. Rest
in Peace Capt Dipak Sathe & Capt Akhilesh, heartfelt condolences to
the families who lost their dear ones,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
Captain Dipak Sathe had planned to pay surprise visit on mother’s b’day
Captain Dipak Sathe, pilot of the Ill-fated Air India Express flight who died along with 17 others after the plane crashed at Kerala’s Kozhikode airport, had planned to pay a surprise visit to Nagpur on his octogenarian mother’s birthday on Saturday, his relative said.
However, even before his mother could celebrate her 84th birthday, Capt Sathe, 58, died in the air crash.
“Today is the birthday of Capt Sathe’s mother. He had last met his parents in March and was constantly in touch with them over phone since then. They had last spoken a day before yesterday,” his nephew Dr Yashodhan Sathe told on Saturday.
“Captain had told some of the relatives that if flights are available, he would pay a surprise visit to his mother on her birthday,” he said.
His mother, Neela Sathe, who lives with her husband Vasant Sathe, a retired colonel, said that, “He used to tell me not to go out due to the pandemic. He would tell me that if something happens to me, he would feel bad. And suddenly this tragedy struck…What we can do before the will of the God…,”
“He was brilliant in table tennis, squash. He was also very good at horse riding,” she said.
“Our Son had also received the rare ‘Sword of Honour’. However, he would not boast about his achievements,” she said, adding that he was the first Maharashtrian to get all the eight prizes of Air Force.
