The two pilots manning the fateful Air India Express flight that skid off the runway while landing at Calicut International Airport and split into two, were among the 18 people who died in the Kozhikode accident.
The Air India flight returning from Dubai had 190 people on board, and reports have suggested that several more could have died had it not been for deceased pilot-in-command Captain Deepak V Sathe’s presence of mind.
When the flight overshot the runway of the tabletop Kozhikode airport, it plunged 35 feet into a gorge and broke into two. In most such cases, the flights go up in flame and hardly anyone survives the combustion. Had it not been for Captain Sathe, this flight mishap could have claimed hundreds of lives too.
Though unconfirmed, several reports have suggested that the former Air Force pilot had turned off the Air India flight’s engine right before landing, to ensure it did not catch fire.
Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe is a very experienced hand at pilots seat. He saved many a lives in yesterday’s AI Express plane crash at Kozhikode by switching off the engine. Sadgati to his soul. Salutes to his professionalism even at the cost of life .— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) August 8, 2020
Captain Sathe, who retired as a Wing Commander with the Indian Air Force in 2003, is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy in Pune and was a decorated officer. He was described as “one of the most distinguished and experienced pilots” with more than 10,000 hours of flying experience and had landed aircraft 27 times before at the Karipur Airport in Kerala.
With agency inputs
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