The Kozhikode Air India Express crash, that has shaken the nation, has claimed 18 lives so far. And, while 172 people have been admitted to the hospital, the tragic situation could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the flight’s Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, who is among the casualties, along with his First Officer, Akhilesh Kumar.
'A great son, always ready to help others in need,' says pilot's mother who died in Kerala plane crash. 🙏#keralaplanecrash #FlightCrash pic.twitter.com/z2UKJGO4Mh
— Anmol Sharma @ANI (@AnmolSharma_ANI) August 8, 2020
Hundreds of lives were reportedly saved as Captain Deepak, who is a retired Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF), turned off the plane’s engine right before the crash, thus ensuring that the aircraft didn’t catch fire upon landing. Union minister V Muraleedharan said a lot of people were saved as the fuel tank of the plane did not go up in flames because of the commander’s actions. He was quoted saying by News18,
“The pilot switched off the engine and that could be the reason the plane 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
RIP Captain💔
Experts says that he sacrificed his life to save almost remaining passengers…
It is just his command over the aircraft that it did not blow up . For such an incident it's truly a miracle. Hats off to him. Truly a person to be remembered#ripsir#keralaplanecrash pic.twitter.com/bhR9vLWIg2— Sharan Kumar (@SharanK14130563) August 7, 2020
Neela Sathe, the mother of late captain Deepak was quoted saying by DNA, “He was a great son and always the first one to help others in need. He sacrificed his life for the country.”
In fact, Deepak’s cousin Nilesh Sathe remembered his brave brother, who has now been hailed as a hero by many, in an emotional post:
Have a look at the entire post here:
Its hard to believe that Dipak Sathe, my friend more than my cousin, is no more. He was pilot of Air India Express…
Posted by Nilesh Sathe on Friday, August 7, 2020
The investigation about how exactly the crash happened is still on. A salute to the hero who sacrificed his life while saving so many others. May his soul rest in peace.