Mumbai/Pune, Jul 25 (PTI) A woman trainee pilot flying solo escaped with minor injuries when a single-seater aircraft crash-landed during a training session in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Monday, said a private aviation academy and officials.
The plane, a Cessna 152 VT-ALI, belonged to the Academy of Carver Aviation located near the Baramati airport and suffered damage in the incident, whose cause was not immediately known.
The woman pilot, Bhavika Rathod, received minor injuries and was admitted to a local hospital for treatment, police and medical officials said.
The incident took place at Kadbanwadi in Indapur tehsil around 11.30 am. The aircraft had taken off from the Baramati airport in Pune, said a police official.
The pilot received minor injuries, said a medical officer from a primary health centre in Shelgaon who visited the accident spot.
Vaibhav Shah, financial in-charge at the Academy of Carver Aviation, said the incident took place during a training session.
“Since ours is a pilot training academy, the exact cause of the crash landing will be ascertained after an investigation,” he said.
It was a skillful and safe crash-landing by the pilot, he said.
“The trainee pilot is safe and there are no casualties. The matter is being investigated,” said the aviation academy in a late night statement.
The aircraft crash-landed in an agricultural field, said an eyewitness.
A farmer, who was working in agricultural fields at the time of the incident, said they saw three planes hovering in the sky.
“We saw one of the planes coming low and then suddenly crash-landing. The pilot got stuck inside. She was a little scared and could not move. As the doors of the plane were locked, we broke open the doors and evacuated the lady pilot, who received some minor injuries,” he said.
Birappa Lature, inspector at the Walchandnagar police station, said the incident has been reported to his police station.
The other two planes flew away after seeing the pilot was safe, he said.
In February 2019, a training aircraft had crashed near Rui village in Indapur tehsil of the western Maharashtra district, located around 200km from Mumbai. The aircraft’s pilot, who was flying solo, had suffered injuries. PTI DC SPK GK RSY RSY
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