He suffered multiple skull injuries and was hospitalised for six months. People believed he would not be able to fly again. However, Wing Commander Deepak Sathe returned on duty for the Indian Air Force (IAF) again after regaining full fitness. The crash happened in early 1990s. Captain Sathe, who was the commander of the Air India Express flight which crashed in Kozhikode on Friday evening, was known for his will power and passion for flying, his cousin Nilesh Sathe said.

Nilesh, who is Advisor Finance at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), shared an emotional post on Facebook recalling his last interaction with his brother. He said Captain Sathe had 36 years of flying experience.

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“It’s hard to believe that Deepak Sathe, my friend more than my cousin, is no more. He was pilot of Air India Express carrying passengers from Dubai in ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, which skidded off the runway at Kozhikode International Airport yesterday night. Deepak was an experienced aerial operator with 36 years of flying experience. A passout of NDA, topper in the 58th course and an awardee of ‘Sword of Honour’, Deepak served Indian Air Force for 21 years before joining as a Commercial Pilot with Air India in 2005,” he said.

“He survived in air crash in early nineties when he was in the Air Force. He was hospitalised for 6 months for multiple skull injuries and nobody thought that he would fly again. But his strong will power and love for flying made him clear the test again. It was a miracle,” Nilesh went on to add.

Captain Sathe is survived by his wife and two sons, both IIT-Bombay passouts.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri described Captain Sathe as one of the most experienced commanders.

“The aircraft was captained and operated by one of our most distinguished, experienced commanders, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe. In fact, the Captain had more than 10,000 hours of flying experience. He has landed on this very air piece, I think as many as 27 times including this year,” Puri told reporters after visiting the crash site on Saturday.