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Abhinav Mehrotra 
About Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe:
Deepak Vasant Sathe was a decorated former Indian Air Force pilot. He was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and, subsequently, Dundigal’s Air Force Academy (AFA) & was very experienced in flying Boeing 737 planes. He was from the 58th course of the NDA and from the Juliet Squadron.
He passed out from Air Force Academy in Hyderabad with a Sword of Honour in June 1981. He was very professional and had been awarded the 58 NDA President Gold Medal. He had been a test pilot for the Air Force. Also he was also an excellent squash player. He also served IAF as a brave warrior during Kargil war.
He was an accomplished fighter pilot before he decided to become a commercial pilot and joined Air India after leaving the Air Force. He was retired as a Wing Commander with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2003. He then shifted to Air India Express where he became a captain. He flew Airbus 310s for Air India.
Saved Hundreds of lives:
Even as the official death toll in Air India Express crash off at Kozhikode International Airport’s tabletop runway has spiked to 18, many are saying that the results of the tragedy could have been much worse if the ill-fated aircraft will have caught fire.
Fortunately, despite plunging 35-feet into a gorge and breaking into two, the aircraft didn’t catch fire, thus saving hundreds of lives. And the man being hailed for saving so many lives is the commander of the Dubai-Kozhikode flight, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe.
He turned off the plane’s engine right before the crash, thus ensuring that it didn’t catch fire upon crash landing, and, in the process, saving several lives and losing his own.Survivors, too, have credited Captain Sathe, for saving their lives.
“It was raining heavily. The pilot had given a warning before landing saying the weather was really bad. He tried for safe landing twice but lost control. It was a miraculous escape for many” was told by a survivor.
We salute the brave captain Deepak Vasant Sathe. Rest In Peace Sir.
