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Kozhikode, Aug 8: A tailwind or crosswind could be the reason for the Air India Express flight mishap at Kozhikode international airport in Kerala, according to some aviation experts. 

Team of DGCA and AIE already reached the spot. With the death of the captain and co-pilot in the mishap, the investigation would be focusing mainly on the voice recorders and other technical aspects.

It is learnt that the ill-fated aircraft, IX 1344 with 190 onboard including crew, was initially planning to land on runway-28 of the airport. But later the pilot opted runway-10 which is toward the other direction. Pilots would be taking the decisions on the basis of inputs from ATC.

The questions now doing the rounds are what made the pilot opt runway-10 and whether the tabletop runway lacked adequate safety parameters.

An aviation expert, who didn't want to be quoted, said that Capt Deepak Sathe, who was commandeering the aircraft, was a well-experienced pilot and was also familiar with the terrains. Hence the chances of any error from his part was very unlikely. Hence a fair in-depth probe was required to find the exact cause.

Though the Kozhikode airport has an Instrument Landing System, it was of category-I for which pilot's visibility is very crucial toward a touchdown. Since it is a tabletop airport and rough weather prevailing in the region, the chances of tailwind was also high, said sources.

There had been safety concerns about the airport over quite some time. In 2011 aviation safety consultant captain Mohan Ranganathan reportedly gave a report citing the safety issues, especially the buffer zones at the end of the runway.

However, an AAI officer said that rectification steps were already done by last year by widening the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) from 90 metre to 240 metre. However, the length of the runway had to be reduced to 2,700 metre from 2,850. The AAI was also constantly pressing for increasing the runway length to 3,150 metres. But that was getting delayed due to land acquisition issues pending with the state government.

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Nagpur, Aug 8: "He was a great son and always the first one to help others in need. He sacrificed his life for the country," said Neela Sathe, the mother of late captain DV Sathe, who was flying the Air India flight that crash-landed at Kozhikode airport on Friday, claiming 18 lives.

Indian Army Retired Colonel Vasant Sathe and his wife Neela lost both their sons in line of duty. The couple is originally from Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Speaking to news agency, Neela broke into tears and said, "He was a great son and always the first one to help others in need. 

His teachers still appreciate him. During the Ahmedabad floods, he saved the children of the soldiers by lifting them in his arms. I wish God would have called us instead of him."

"Both our children sacrificed their lives for the country," she added.

Remembering DV Sathe's childhood, Neela talked about every that moment when he made his parents proud.

Neela told with great pride that Captain DV Sathe had received the Sword of Honor and had also won eight medals in the Air Force.

Neela last talked to DV Sathe over phone call a few days ago during which captain told her mother not to go out of the house amid COVID-19 crisis as if something happens to her, he won't be able to bear that.

Vasant, captain's father retired as a colonel after serving in the Army for 30 years, following the footsteps of their father, both his sons joined too the Army.

Their elder son Vikas, was in the Army, and at the age of 22, he was martyred in an accident in Ferozepur in 1981. Their younger son Deepak (DV Sathe), who served as a pilot in Air India after serving in the Indian Air Force, died in the plane crash on Friday.

An Air India Express plane carrying 190 passengers including 10 infants skidded while landing at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode on Friday evening.