Deepak Sathe, the pilot-in-command of the Air India Express plane that crashed at the Kozhikode airport in Kerala, was cremated in Mumbai on Tuesday with State honours, reported PTI.
The last rites were performed at the Tagore Nagar electric crematorium in Vikhroli in the presence of his relatives. The number of people allowed to attend the last rites was restricted in view of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Maharashtra government decided to accord a State funeral to the pilot earlier on Tuesday.
The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway during landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rain on Friday night, fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two, killing 18 people, including the pilots.
The pilot’s mortal remains were flown to Mumbai on Sunday and were 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.
A wreath was placed on behalf of the Indian Air Force, where Sathe was a test pilot before joining Air India. Pilots, cabin crew and others in the aviation sector also participated in the final journey.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)