An instructor pilot and a trainee pilot were killed after a four-seater, twin-engine training aircraft crashed in a field in Kanpur on Thursday, the police said.
Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghuveer Lal identified the deceased as Sachin Bhatia, an instructor pilot from Gujarat, and Abhishek Pujari, a trainee pilot from Karnataka.
"Two people have died. There was an instructor, Sachin Bhatia, who was a resident of Gujarat, and Abhishek Pujari, a trainee from Karnataka. Both the instructor and trainee took off at 11:30 AM from the Garg Aviation Training Center here. This incident occurred around 11:50 AM as they were returning," Lal told reporters.
The aircraft was returning to the Garg Aviation Training Center when it crashed around 11:50 am, about 20 minutes after takeoff, according to the police commissioner.
AAIB to probe Kanpur trainer aircraft crash that killed 2
A three-member DGCA team will visit the crash site for regulatory oversight, while the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has been informed and will conduct a detailed investigation to determine the cause, the aviation ministry said.
