KANPUR: A private training aircraft crashed near the Ganga barrage in India’s Kanpur on Thursday, killing the pilot and trainee pilot on board, police said.
The aircraft crashed into a field near Natthupurwa village in the Katri area, scattering debris across the site and triggering panic among residents.
Training Plane Crashes In Kanpur, 2 Pilots Killed
Both the instructor and trainee pilot on board were killed, police told ANI, after the small training aircraft crashed into a field on Thursday.
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Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal identified the victims as instructor Sachin Bhatia, a resident of Gujarat, and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari from Karnataka.
Human error, technical failures, poor maintenance and wider safety lapses are among the key factors behind the relatively frequent crashes involving training aircraft in India.
Aircraft Crashed 20 Minutes After Take-Off
According to Lal, the twin-engine Tecnam aircraft took off from the flight training centre at around 11:30 am and crashed about 20 minutes later while returning to the centre.
The aircraft had been brought to the training school in 2023 for pilot training.
Bhatia had around 3,000 hours of flying experience, the police commissioner said.
The cause of the crash has not yet been established.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed and will conduct a technical investigation into the crash, Lal said.
Police and local authorities reached the site after the incident, while debris from the aircraft was recovered from the field.
The crash comes after two other training-aircraft incidents in India this year.
In June, a trainee pilot escaped with minor injuries when a two-seater aircraft crashed in Kasganj district, while in May a training aircraft made a hard landing near Gojubavi village in Maharashtra’s Baramati.
