MUMBAI: The 83-year-old Neela Sathe, mother of pilot Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, said she was proud of her son, who while losing his life in the Kozhikode plane tragedy was able to save the lives of 170 of his passengers.
Neela Sathe said whom to save and whom to kill is in God's hands.
"In the plane crash, the lives of 170 passengers were saved but the person who saved their lives got killed. It was the wish of god. We are proud that our son sacrificed his life for the country," said Neela Sathe, who had lost another son Captain Vikas Sathe in Jammu a few years ago.
Deepak Sathe's father Vasant Sathe was also in the army and retired as a colonel. He stays in Nagpur with his wife.
Deepak Sathe passed out of the National Defence Academy, and was a topper in the 58th course and had won the 'Sword of Honour'.
He served in the Indian Air Force for 21 years before joining Air India as a Commercial Pilot in 2005. Deepak was an experienced plane operator with 36 years of flying experience. He leaves behind his wife and two sons, both IIT Mumbai pass-outs.
Nilesh Sathe, a cousin of Deepak Sathe, wrote an emotional post on social media saying Captain Deepak had called him a week ago. He sounded jovial as always then.
"When I asked him about the 'Vande Bharat' Mission, he was proud of bringing back our countrymen from Arab countries. I asked him, "Deepak, do you fly an empty aircraft since these countries are not allowing entry of passengers?" He had replied, "Oh, No! We carry fruits, vegetables, medicines etc. to these countries and the aircraft never flies empty."
Nilesh also recounted a past air crash in the early nineties that Deepak Sathe survived when he was in the Air Force.
"Deepak was hospitalised for six months with multiple skull injuries and nobody thought he would fly again. But his strong willpower and love for flying made him clear the test again. It was a miracle," said Nilesh.
Deepak Sathe's aunt Meena Sathe recalling the 1990 air crash involving Captain Deepak said he had the determination to fight and come out of any crisis. She said that they used to talk a lot over the phone and through social media.
"Deepak was very curious to know about various developments in the pharmaceutical sector because I worked there. He had also shared some of his landing experiences in low-visibility situations," Meena Sathe said.
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