Maharashtra Govt to Accord State Funeral to Air India Capt Deepak Sathe

The Maharashtra government has decided to accord a state funeral to Captain Deepak Sathe, pilot-in-command of the ill-fated Air India Express plane thatcrashed in Kerala last week, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's Office said on Tuesday. The funeral of Captain Sathe, 58, who was a resident of Chandivali in Mumbai, will be held here later in the day. Lauding Sathe, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said his life shall inspire young pilots to achieve the 'Sword of Honour'.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190people, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway during landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rainon Friday, fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two, killing 18 people, including both pilots. "The State has decided to accord a state funeral to the late Wing Commander (Retd) Captain DV Sathe. His life has been one that shall inspire many more young pilots to achieve the Sword of Honour and command over the skies," the CMOtweeted.

After the plane crash, his Captain Sathe's wife Sushmaand one of their sons had gone to Kerala to collect his mortal remains, which were brought here in a flight on Sunday. The body was then kept at the Air India facility near Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport here for some time before being taken to Bhabha Hospital.