The death toll in the Air India Express flight crash at the Karipur Airport in Kozhikode rose to 18 on Saturday with one more passenger succumbing to injuries.
Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said that one more passenger had succumbed to injuries. Except one, all those who had perished in the accident have been identified, he said.
Seventeen people were killed and scores injured when the Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 onboard overshot the table-top runway while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35-feet below and broke into two portions on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe also lost his life in the accident.
Here is all you need to know about Captain Deepak Sathe:
Captain Deepak V Sathe was a decorated former Indian Air Force pilot. He was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was very experienced in flying Boeing 737 planes. He was an accomplished fighter pilot before he decided to become a commercial pilot.
Sathe joined Air India after leaving the Air Force in 2003. He then shifted to Air India Express where he became a captain. Reportedly, he flew Airbus 310s for Air India.
Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd) told PTI that Sathe was from the 58th course of the NDA and from the Juliet Squadron. "He passed out from Air Force Academy in Hyderabad with a Sword of Honour in June 1981," he added. He was also an excellent squash player, said Gokhale.
"He was very professional and had been awarded the 58 NDA President Gold Medal. He had been a test pilot for the Air Force," said another officer.
Captain Deepak Sathe is survived by his wife, two sons and parents. The family resides in Mumbai's Powai.
Speaking to ANI, his mother Neela Sathe said, "He was a great son & always first one to help others in need. His teachers still appreciate him."
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