IFALPA condoles death of pilots, passengers in AI Express plane crash

Indian chapter of the International Federation of Airlines Pilots Associations (IFALPA) has expressed its "heartfelt condolences" to the families of two pilots and passengers who died when an Air India Express plane crashed on Friday.

The pilots -- Deepak Vasant Sathe and Akhilesh Kumar -- along with 16 other people died when the plane overshot runway and later broke into pieces at Kozhikode airport.

Airlines Pilots Association of India (ALPA), which represents Indian pilots community at IFALPA, in a letter to Air India Express, also conveyed its "condolences to the families of the passengers who lost their lives" in the accident.

"We at ALPA India and on behalf of all IFALPA members worldwide would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families of Deepak Vasant Sathe and Akhilesh Kumar," ALPA India President Sam Thomas said.

The mortal remains of Kumar, who was the co-pilot seat of the ill-fated Boeing 737 plane, was cremated in his hometown Mathura on Sunday while the body of flight commander Sathe was cremated with full state honours in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The association also wished speedy recovery to the injured passengers and crew of the plane.

IFALPA claims to represent over 1,00,00 pilots from over 100 countries.