Kanpur: A twin-engine training aircraft with two pilots on board crashed in a field near the banks of the Ganges river in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, killing both of the pilots on board, police said. Sachin Bhatia of Gujarat and Abhishek Pujari of Karnataka were identified as the dead. One of these was a trainee pilot and the other one was an instructor, police said.
This plane flew off from the Garg Aviation training centre in Kanpur at around 11.30 am. The incident took place around 20 minutes later, when the aircraft was headed back to the training centre.
The instructor had about 3,000 hours of flying experience, said Kanpur Nagar Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been notified and is likely to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the accident.
Emergency personnel and the police swarmed the scene of the accident after the crash. Images from the scene revealed the plane was in complete wreckage in a grassy and forested area with its metal features extensively compromised and belongings such as panelling from the wings and white panels having been tossed around the site.
The aircraft was seen to lose control shortly before crash, officials said. However the cause of the accident is still not known and will be determined during the investigation. The airplane training crafts were allegedly shifted to the aviation centre in 2023.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath deplored the death of the two pilots. He prayed for the dying, communed with their families and expressed sympathy for their loss and its effects, wishing them strength to deal with the situation. In its investigation, the DGCA will investigate the aeroplane’s condition, flight operations and other aspects to establish what caused the fatal accident.