Kanpur, Aug 27 (PTI) A trainee pilot and an instructor were killed on Thursday when a twin-engine training aircraft crashed near the Ganga in Kanpur, with a three-member DGCA team set to probe whether a technical or human error caused the accident, officials said.
The Tecnam P2006T aircraft, operated by Garg Aviation, took off from Kanpur Civil Airport around 11.30 am and crashed about 20 minutes later near Nathapurwa village in the Katri area along the Ganga, Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal told PTI.
The deceased were identified as instructor Sachin Bhatia, from Gujarat, and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari, from Karnataka. Bhatia had around 3,000 hours of flying experience, Lal said.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the probe agency, AAIB, will investigate the crash and a team of three officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be visiting the crash site for necessary regulatory oversight and coordination.
The ministry said the aircraft, bearing registration VT-NBV, met with an accident approximately five nautical miles from Kanpur Civil Airport near Ganga Barrage.
Citing preliminary information, the ministry said the Tecnam P2006T was on a training flight in the local flying area of Kanpur Civil Airport and had two people on board.
“Both sustained fatal injuries in the accident,” the ministry said.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has been informed and will conduct a detailed investigation into the crash in accordance with applicable rules, the ministry said. A three-member team from the DGCA will also visit the crash site.
Lal said the DGCA team was likely to begin a technical inquiry soon and examine whether the crash involved a technical or human error.
“There could be several possibilities. There may have been a technical error or a human error while taking over the charge of the aircraft during training in the air,” he said.
The team will examine the aircraft’s age, the number of flying hours it had completed, and its maintenance and airworthiness records, Lal said. The engines would also be checked against their prescribed service or operating limits.
“Whether the aircraft was fit for training or not, its airworthiness and maintenance-related aspects can be established only by the DGCA team after its technical investigation,” he said.
The aircraft had been with Garg Aviation Ltd, Kanpur, since 2023. The company claimed it had no maintenance-related deficiencies.
Police and fire personnel rushed to the crash site after the accident, cordoned off the area and secured the wreckage as evidence.
Lal said the immediate responsibility of the police was to secure the site, deploy disaster-response teams and prevent any further mishap, including the possibility of a fire or blast from the wreckage.
Videos from the site showed the aircraft reduced to wreckage, with debris scattered around the area. A seat was also seen outside the wreckage, although officials have not confirmed whether the pilots attempted to escape the aircraft.
Lal, Additional Commissioners of Police Vipin Tada and Sankalp Sharma, and Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma visited the crash site following the accident.
The bodies were sent to the mortuary for post-mortem examination, which will be conducted by a panel of doctors, Lal said.
Instructions have been issued for proper videography of the entire autopsy process, and the examination will be conducted after the arrival of the families.
Police had earlier said the aircraft was a twin-engine, four-seater plane.
The families of both deceased persons have been informed and were expected to reach Kanpur soon, Lal said. The Garg Aviation team has also reached the crash site and is coordinating with the families.
The local investigation has been handed over to Assistant Commissioner of Police, Colonelganj, Akanksha Pandey, who will conduct the overall preliminary inquiry and coordinate with the DGCA, Lal told PTI in the evening.
“She will remain in contact with the Aviation Ministry’s investigation team and provide whatever assistance is required at the local police level,” he said.
“She will also supervise the police investigation from the law-and-order and other relevant angles,” Lal added.
The Station House Officer of Gwaltoli police station, under whose jurisdiction the crash occurred, has also been directed to assist Pandey and provide necessary support to the probe team, he said. PTI COR ABN KIS NB NB
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