Surabaya , Indonesia ( CNN ) The man who captained AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lived in a picturesque neighborhood in the suburbs of Surabaya , Indonesia 's second-largest city . We headed there to see if family members or friends wanted to talk to us about him . These types of assignments are never easy . We are well aware that the last thing many people in mourning want to do is to talk to a journalist . I 've done this long enough to know that the smart thing is to have the decency to offer condolences and leave if mourners say they do n't want to talk . But this family did n't feel that way . They were gracious and warm to us , and invited us to join other mourners who were with them . Experienced pilot . The captain of the ill-fated airliner , known only as Irianto -- many Indonesians go by one name -- had been with AirAsia for six years . He had worked for another airline in Indonesia for 13 years before that , and was an Indonesian Air Force pilot for a decade prior . When we arrived at his home , his wife , Widya Sukatri Putri , answered the door . She and Irianto have two children ; a daughter named Angela who is about to turn 25 , and a 7-year-old son named Arya . We told her we wanted to do a story about Irianto , that we hoped to find out what kind of husband and father he was ; what kind of man and pilot he was . She invited us inside where we offered our condolences and asked if she would to talk to us on camera . She told us she was n't sure if she wanted to talk , but invited us to come back later in the morning . We came back two hours later and the house was full of family and friends offering support to Widya , her children , and Irianto 's elderly mother and father . What was taking place in the house was an Indonesian tradition known as a layat , a visitation by people when there is death in a family . There were dozens of people , old and young , sitting on the floor of Irianto 's home . The house was so crowded that other mourners sat out in the front of the house , and some sat at tables that had been put in the middle of the closed off street . 'Kind and loving ' father and husband . Widya and Angela , her daughter , invited us to sit down with them , and it was there that they decided they did want to say a few words to us about Irianto . The portrait they painted about this man made it clear that he was kind and loving , fun and even-tempered , hard working and dedicated . I marveled at how kind Irianto 's wife and children were to us , how kind his parents were to us . They were suffering so much , yet they wanted to make us feel at home . I told his daughter not to worry about us . She told me her father had taught her to be hospitable . Angela is not ready to give up hope that someway , somehow he and other people on the plane might still be alive . But she knows that is unlikely and told us she is prepared to accept reality . This family made it very evident they were lucky to have Irianto in their lives . We said our goodbyes to this gracious family , realizing that the fated plane 's pilot was also very lucky to have them .
He also spoke to the family of the captain of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 . Irianto was a highly - experienced former air force pilot . He 's wife remembers him as a kind and loving man who was hard - working and dedicated . Daughter holds out hope that he and other passengers may have survived .