New Delhi: In the disastrous mishap of Air India Express flight, one of the pilots among the two who got killed, was a decorated former India Air Force pilot and ‘Sword of Honour’ awardee.
Former wing commander Deepak Vasant Sathe belonged to the 58th Course of the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, where he had bagged the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ on passing out from the NDA. He hailed from the state of Maharashtra.
The ‘Sword of Honour’ is awarded to the cadet first in the order of merit when passing from national service training academies including those of the defence, navy or the air force.
Captain DV Sathe was accompanied by Captain Akhilesh Kumar as co-pilot, who was seriously injured and moved for treatment but was later reported dead.
Civil aviation regulator DGCA said the visibility at the airport was around 2,000 meters at the time of the incident and the airport was witnessing heavy rains and the Dubai-Calicut Air India Express flight fell into a 30 feet deep gorge in the valley. At least 18 people have been killed and more than 120 injured in the incident.
President Ram Nath Kovind expressed his anguish on the tragedy.
“Deeply distressed to hear about the tragic plane crash of Air India Express flight at Kozhikode, Kerala. Spoke to @KeralaGovernor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan and inquired about the situation. Thoughts and prayers with affected passengers, crew members and their families,” he tweeted.
Deeply distressed to hear about the tragic plane crash of Air India Express flight at Kozhikode, Kerala. Spoke to @KeralaGovernor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan and inquired about the situation. Thoughts and prayers with affected passengers, crew members and their families.
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 7, 2020
