Air India Plane Crash: Sword Of Honour Recipient Captain DV Sathe, Former IAF Pilot Killed

At least 19, including former Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilot Captain DV Sathe and his co-pilot, died in a tragic plane crash after the Air India Express flight IX-1344 overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport and broke into pieces.

Wing Commander Deepak Sathe was a decorated former fighter pilot, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy(NDA) in Pune. He was an experienced aerial operator. After retiring from the military, he flew Air India planes, before finally shifting to its subsidiary Air India Express. He was also the recipient of a Sword of Honour, one of the most prestigious military awards at the Air Force Academy.

Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd) said that, "Captain Deepak V Sathe was from 58th course of National Defence Academy, Pune. He was from Juliet Squadron. Sathe passed out from Air Force Academy with Sword of Honour in June 1981 and was a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force."

Captain Akhilesh Kumar, his co-pilot, had been married last year.

The flight was part of India's "Vande Bharat" repatriation initiative to bring back expatriates from foreign countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were 174 passengers, 10 Infants, two pilots and four cabin crew members on board the aircraft.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams as well as the State Response Forces have arrived at the site and are performing rescue operations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGVA) issued a statement immediately after the incident. The statement reads, "Air India Express IX-1344 Dubai to Calicut, visibility 2000 meter, heavy rain, after landing on Runway 10, continued running to the end of the runway and fell down in the valley and broke down into two pieces."

Narendra Modi tweeted as, "Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM vijayan Pinarayi Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot,providing all assistance to the affected."