Kerala Air India crash: Wing Commander Sathe was a decorated pilot

New Delhi, Aug 08: Wing Commander Deepak Vasanth Sathe, the captain of the ill-fated aircraft that crashed at Calicut on Friday was a decorated pilot.

During his 22 year career in the Indian Air Force, he learnt flying the Soviet origin MiG-21.

He was awarded the coveted sword of honour in recognition of his skills when he graduated from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal near Hyderabad in 1981. He was also a former alumnus of the National Defence Academy.

He joined the IAF in 1981 and quit prematurely in June 2003. He was a very skilled pilot and had mentored several young pilots.

Twenty people were killed and scores injured when an Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 onboard overshot the tabletop runway in Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday night while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions, officials said.