Kozhikode: Deepak Vasant Sathe, the chief pilot of the crashed Air India Express, was one of the most experienced commanders with more than ten thousand hours of flying experience and has previously made aircraft landings at Karipur Airport 27 times. Sathe also died in the accident. This information was given by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday. The minister was speaking to reporters to take stock of the Dubai-Kozhikode plane crash on Friday night and the relief operations that followed. The accident killed 18 people and injured many others.
Puri said, “Deepak Vasant Sathe, Captain and Operator of the aircraft was one of our most experienced commanders. In fact, the captain had more than ten thousand hours of flying experience. He has landed aircraft at this airport nearly 27 times. ” He praised the local Aircraft Authority officials, all other agencies and local people who took part in the rescue operations after the accident. Co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar also died in the accident. The minister said that he worked brilliantly.
In 2011, an expert in the aviation sector warned that in the event of wind blowing in the direction of an aircraft landing in Kozhikode Airport, runway-10 at Kozhikode Airport, passengers could be in danger. Capt. Mohan Ranganathan, June In 2011, he wrote a letter to the then Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi expressing his concern about this airstrip. Ranganathan was then a member of the operational group in the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee (CASAC).
This incident happened in Mangalore in 2010
Ranganathan wrote this letter after the 2010 Air India Express plane crashed at Mangalore Airport. 158 people were killed in this accident. Ranganathan wrote. “Flights descending under favorable wind conditions in rain on runway 10 are going to endanger the lives of passengers.” In such a situation, the angle or direction of the aircraft may be affected when landing.
Tabletop Rainway in Kozhikode
The Kozhikode airport in Kerala comes under the Airports Authority of India (AAI). There is a tabletop runway at this airport. What action was taken at that time on Ranganathan’s letter. Information about this could not be found.
