In 1946, Khatami was named personal pilot of the Shah.[6][7] Days before the 19 August 1953 coup on 16 August, the Shah, accompanied by his second wife Sorayya Esfandiary Bakhtiari and Aboul Fath Atabay, escaped from Iran to Iraq and then to Italy by a plane aviated by Khatami.[7][8][9] In 1957, Khatami was appointed chief of staff for the imperial air force.[10][11] He succeeded Hedayat Gilanshah in the post following the latter's death in a plane crash.[12] Khatami served in this post until his death in 1975.[1][12]