Two pilots killed in aircraft crash

Mumbai: Two pilots, including a woman trainee, were killed when a training aircraft of the National Flying Training Institute crash-landed in Wainganga river in Gondia district of Vidarbha region on Wednesday.

Both the pilots, trainer Ranjan Gupta (35) and the trainee Himani Kalyani (24), are believed to have died on the spot. While the reason behind the crash is not yet known, sources claimed that the plane crashed allegedly after hitting a ropeway wire over Wainganga river.

Both the instructor as well as the trainee are believed to have hailed from Delhi. Himani was undergoing an 18-month training at NFTI and Wednesday’s sortie was her final check flight session of her training.

The bodies of trainer Ranjan Gupta and trainee Himani Kalyani

The instructor and the trainee pilot in the aircraft, NFTI aircraft no. DA 42 Nike, were both found dead on the stop. The aircraft had taken off at around 9.25 am and was on its regular training sortie for NFTI, which is situated in the central city of Gondia. According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) of Mumbai, the plane lost contact with them at around 9.35 am. The plane crashed within 20 minutes of its take off.

Sources said that though the actual reason behind the crash is yet to be established, the plane had come ‘very low’ than its usual path. “After it tried to raise its height and fly higher it got in contact with a ropeway located between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, which resulted in the crash,” said a source.  

While a team of Airports Authority of India (AAI) inspected the spot on Wednesday, a team from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) too reached Gondia on Wednesday. The DGCA team will commence its inspection from Thursday.