Current affairs

Kerala plane crash: Deceased Air India's captain was a former Air Force pilot!

By alagu, 08 August, 2020
India, Kerala, Heavy rains, Kerala plane crash

The state of Kerala and the entire nation have been grieving for the unprecedented plane crash in the Kozhikode International Airport on the night hours of Friday which killed 18 people and put over 120 others in the hospitals. The Air India Express flight, which was a part of Vande Bharat Mission, was carrying 190 members on board from Dubai to Kozhikode. 

Due to the heavy rain and poor visibility, the flight had skidded off from the tabletop runway of the airport, split into two pieces, and collided on the wall, which had caused severe damage to the cockpit. The victims include two pilots of the aircraft and they were identified as Wing Commander Deepak Vasant Sathe and Captain Akhilesh Kumar.

Of these two, Wing Commander Deepak Vasant Sathe was a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew fighter jets before switching to the commercial aircraft. Sathe was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and he had a rich experience in operating the Boeing 737 planes. Before piloting Boeing, captain Sathe flew Airbus 310 model planes for Air India. 

 

Following Air India, he joined Air India Express and he was flying the Boeing 737 aircraft that crashed in Kozhikode airport. According to the PTI, Captain Sathe was from the 58th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA). He passed out from the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad with a Sword of Honor in June 1981.

Besides being professional, Captain Sathe was conferred with 58th NDA President Gold Medal and he was a test pilot for the Air Force.  He was an able fighter pilot before venturing into the commercial aircraft. Captain Sathe had served in the Indian Air Force for 22 years and he retired from 2003 as a squadron leader. According to the reports, captain Akhilesh Kumar, who died in the crash, is a native of Madura, Uttar Pradesh, had got married in December 2017. He was surviving with his wife, who is now pregnant.

 

Their lives came to a tragic end along with 16 others while the crash had injured around 120 others who are getting treated at the various hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode. The mishap occurred at around 7.40 pm on Friday while the state has been reeling through the losses and damages caused by heavy rains. It has been reported that the aircraft had landed on the wet tabletop runway. 

Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway as it sits on top of the plateau and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had in 2019 issued a show-cause notice to the airport authorities for failing to meet the safety standards and for the unsafe maintenance of the airport. Malappuram district collector has, on Saturday, said that 149 passengers have been injured and 22 under the critical condition while 22 others have been discharged after first aid. 

 

According to the reports, it came to the revelation that the aircraft had hovered on air around the airport several times and it had made two attempts to land and aborted due to the poor visibility and heavy rains. On Saturday, Minister of State for External Affairs Muraleedharan had visited the airport and the site of the plane crash and Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be visiting the airport. 

Must-read: Back to back tragedies in Kerala: At least 18 dead in a plane crash at the Kozhikode airport! What happened?

Helpline numbers regarding the flight crash in Kozhikode,

Airport Control Room - 0483 2719493

Malappuram Collectorate - 0483 2736320

Kozhikode Collectorate - 0495 2376901

 

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