Pilot, instructor killed as training aircraft crashes along Ganga in Kanpur
Tecnam aircraft operated by Garg Aviation crashed near Nathapurwa village, killing instructor Sachin Bhatia and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari; DGCA to investigate the crash
A trainee pilot and an instructor were on Thursday (August 27) killed when a training aircraft crashed in Kanpur along the banks of Ganga, a senior police official said.
The Tecnam aircraft, operated by Garg Aviation training centre, took off at around 11.30 am and crashed about 20 minutes later, killing instructor Sachin Bhatia of Gujarat and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari of Karnataka, Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI.
The Italian-made aircraft crashed near Nathapurwa village in the Katri area. Bhatia had around 3,000 hours of flying experience, Lal said.
“We have got information about the instructor. He had an experience of around 3,000 hours. The DGCA has been informed. Their team will conduct a thorough investigation. The police have protected the entire area,” he said.
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Emergency services and authorities immediately rushed to the spot.
Visuals from the incident site showed a completely wrecked plane in a grassy, wooded area. The metal parts of the flight can be seen twisted, with the wing and other white panels broken into pieces.
The exact cause of the crash is not yet known. Officials said it occurred after the plane lost control.
The aircraft was brought to the training centre in 2023, officials added.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the families of the pilots killed in the accident. He also prayed for the peace of the departed souls and for the strength of the families to bear the immense loss.