Air India Express pilot Vasant Sathe cremated with state honours
Pilot Vasant Sathe’s family members were present at his Mumbai residence before his cremation.
Captain Deepak Vasanth Sathe was cremated in Mumbai on Tuesday with full state honours with representatives from army, navy, coastguard, Mumbai police and city mayor apart from family members and politicians paying their tributes in person.
Sathe had died in the crash of an Indian Express flight with 190 people on board from Dubai which fell into a 35 feet deep valley after overshooting the runway at the tabletop Karipur Airport in Kerala in rainy conditions on Friday. Sathe’s co-pilot Captain Abhishek Kumar, too, died in the incident.
Sathe was known as a highly experienced commercial pilot, who had earlier served in the Indian Air Force. He had 10,000 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737 aircraft. He had flown 6,662 of these hours as the commander. Several experts believe that his experience saved the aircraft from catching fire after the crash and resulting in a bigger disaster. 18 people were killed in the crash and several others are undergoing treatment for injuries.
Also Read: Maharashtra govt to accord state funeral to Air India pilot Capt Deepak Vasant Sathe
Maharashtra government head earlier announced state funeral for Sathe saying his life will inspire young pilots to achieve “Sword of Honour and command over skies”.
A resident of Chandivali in Mumbai, Captain Sathe’s last rites were performed at the Tagore Nagar electric crematorium in Vikhroli. Several people lined up the road as the funeral procession started from his residence, reported a news agency.
Authorities, however, didn’t allow a large gathering at the funeral in view of the restrictions in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 outbreak.
Sathe’s father, Colonel Vasant Sathe (Retd), 87 and mother Neela, 83, were present at the Chandivli residence, where floral tributes were paid to the deceased before the final procession for the crematorium began.
Sathe’s mortal remains were flown to Mumbai on Sunday and kept at the Air India facility near Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport for some time before being taken to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra.
On Tuesday morning, the body was brought from the hospital to the family home in Chandivali.
Residents of the housing complex paid tributes to the pilot. Some were seen saluting him from their balconies.
The pilot’s US-based elder son Shantanu also reached Mumbai on Monday for the last rites, according to PTI.
