Captain Dipak Vasant Sathe, or Dipak Sathe, the pilot, who died of a plane skidding from a tabletop runway at Karipur Airport, Kozhikode, Kerala, India, was an ex-Indian Air Force officer, who served in the force for 22 years. He retired as a squadron leader in 2003 and moved to commercial aircraft flying as per online data.
![Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, Deepak Sathe](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwtf6C38s3QyNXFlwDaahzOocCAxaOUD9sihYjDQ8fiCtIIjr4fTAU-3pJRcpkBrDHGN8GXATIYLuM3BlorE8c_P_7EcCKazp-ZVCfVmf0jNIRGWIYO6NsaxihzNNN_cZRORmjY_fcITU/s1600-rw/000.jpg)
Captain Dipak Vasant Sathe: The pilot, who died of a plane crash at Karipur Airport
According to the sources, Deepak Sathe was ranked 58 at the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Sword of Honour in the 127 pilots course. He was a test pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF Wing Commander) and skilled at operating Boeing 737 commercial flights.
Heartbreaking. Capt Deepak Sathe was a former Air Force Pilot and also flew through Airbus 310 for air India before moving to Air India express on the 737. Sathe won the sword of honour at the AFA and was accomplished fighter pilot, he was HAL test pilot too.
Heartbreaking. Capt Deepak Sathe was a former Air Force Pilot and also flew through Airbus 310 for air India before moving to air India express on the 737. Sathe won sword of honour at the AFA and was accomplished fighter pilot,he was HAL test pilot too. pic.twitter.com/z4kTnGugRN
— Anisha Dutta (@A2D2_) August 7, 2020
Its hard to believe that Dipak 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. - says Nilesh Sathe, cousin of Dipak Sathe and a financial advisor at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)