Captain Deepak Vasantha Sathe, an experienced pilot

Our Correspondent

Captain Deepak Vasantha Sathe, who flew the ill-fated Air India Express AXB1344, B737 that crashed at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, was a very experienced pilot.

This was Sathe’s first accident in 30 years of flying ending in his death. Captain Sethi, a former IAF Wing Commander, was commissioned into service on June 11, 1981, and retired on June 30, 2003. He flew through the Airbus 310 for Air India before moving to Air India Express on the Boeing 737. Captain Sathe has won the sword of honour at the Air Force Academy and was accomplished fighter pilot. He was also a HAL test pilot.

Sathe was a man who had the expertise to land a plane at a very difficult airport such as Karipur. Such talented people are assigned to land planes at table top airports.

Sathe, who won the Best Pilot award while serving in the Air Force, worked for Bangalore Hindustan Aeronautical Limited.