Pradeep Gyawali Tweets That He Is “Deeply Saddened” About Air India Plane Crash, 18 Found Dead Including The Pilots

The Air India Express plane was carrying 190 people when it was crashed at the airport of Calicut into two pieces within a fraction of seconds. So far 18 people are found dead in this accident including the captain who was an Ex-Air Force pilot.

The Boeing 737, en route from Dubai, was flung away from the runway because of the heavy rain. The jet was skidded off the runway while landing at Calicut airport and broke into two pieces, leaving the whole nation and hundreds of families devastated.

The flight was arranged to bring the stranded Indians during the pandemic.

Nothing could be done to stop the ill-fated incident that killed 18 people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the plane accident”.

V Muraleedharan, MoS External Affairs has gone to the sight where the plane crashed yesterday, and still cannot overlook the horrific condition of the place.

All the passengers have been rescued and taken to hospitals in Calicut and Malappuram, according to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The list of passengers included 10 children as well. There are 156 passengers who have obtained massively injured. Two pilots died in this gruesome plane crash.

The plane failed to land on the runway and crashed at 19:40 local time (14:10 GMT) on Friday. The pilots had to abort the landing at first due to a deluge of rain in Kerala. The second attempt turned into a disaster when it skidded off.

The pilots of the Air India Express plane lost their lives on Friday evening. Wing Commander Deepak Vasant Sathe and Captain Akhilesh Kumar were the victims.

Wing Commander Deepak Vasant Sathe was a former Indian Air Force fighter pilot. He was an experienced pilot who flew Boeing 737 planes many times in his life. He was an alumnus Air Force Academy in Hyderabad with a Sword of Honour in June 1981. Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd.) will always remember him as an excellent squash player.

Late Deepak Vasant Sathe was awarded the 58 NDA, President Gold Medal.

On the other hand, his co-pilot was young and newly married who also died in the plane crash.

Till the last few minutes before the landing, the aircraft was hovering in the sky above the airport and aborted the first attempt on the tabletop runway, surrounded by deep gorges on both sides. The front of the plane is totally damaged due to the collision.