A day after 24-year-old trainee pilot Himani Kalyani and her 44-year-old instructor Captain Rajan Gupta died in a crash, all training at the National Flying Training Institute in Gondia was suspended to pay homage to them
The aircraft crash landed into a riverbed
A day after 24-year-old trainee pilot Himani Kalyani and her 44-year-old instructor Captain Rajan Gupta died in a crash, all training at the National Flying Training Institute in Gondia was suspended to pay homage to them.
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NFTI students, staff and AAI officials attended Gupta's funeral, while Himani was cremated in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi.
A probe into the crash has also begun, with team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and Airport Authorities of India carrying out a site inspection where the four-seater DA42 aircraft crashed.
The local Dawaniwada police – where a case of accidental death has been registered – have also submitted a list of questions to the experts from AAIB, seeking clarity on taking the investigation forward.
Himani Kalyani
Committee to probe
Confirming the same, assistant police inspector Waman Hemne said, "We have submitted around four to five questions to get clarity on the circumstances that led to the accident." Hemne added, "We have been told by the experts that a committee will be appointed to probe the crash and the findings of the committee will take at least three to four months to come out. Also, they have stated that the reports of the findings will be made public by the authorities."
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Meanwhile, the police have started recording statements of NFTI officials as well as local villagers, who witnessed the aircraft hitting the ropeway on the river before crash landing into the riverbed. "We have found that the steel wire connecting the ropeway has broken at one place, corroborating the eyewitness account. We have to record their statements."
Rajan Gupta
Parents' statements
He added, "Himani's parents arrived from Delhi late Wednesday night. They are both pilots with IndiGo airlines. Himani was their eldest child and has a 17-year-old brother. The parents were distressed and hence, their detailed statements will be recorded later."
Highly placed sources from the police department said the impact of the crash landing was so severe that death was spontaneous. Himani died due to a head injury, while multiple injuries killed Gupta. However, forensic experts from the Government Medical College in Gondia could not ascertain the exact height from where the airplane fell to the ground.
A forensic expert from Mumbai added, "Usually, in case of a fall from building or tower or hillock it is easy to ascertain the height or distance from the ground level, but it case of a crash landing it is not possible."
Police sources added that the aviation experts probing the case were keen to know from the autopsy surgeons if the deceased had sustained any burn injuries, to which the response was negative. It seems that prima-facie, there was no fire after the aircraft's crash landing.
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