Kanpur trainer aircraft crash: AAIB to probe accident that killed instructor and trainee pilot

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB will investigate the crash of a twinengine training aircraft near Kanpur that killed a trainee pilot and an instructor on Thursday the civil aviation ministry saidThe Tecnam P2006T aircraft operated by Kanpurbased Garg Aviation Ltd crashed in the afternoon near the Ganga Barrage around five nautical miles from Kanpur Civil AirportThe aircraft bearing registration VTNBV was on a training flight in the local flying area of Kanpur Civil Airport when the accident occurred according to preliminary information provided by the ministryTrainee pilot and instructor killed in crashThe two victims were identified as instructor Sachin Bhatia from Gujarat and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari from Karnataka police saidThe aircraft had taken off at around 1130 am and crashed approximately 20 minutes later near Nathapurwa village in the Katri area along the banks of the Ganga Kanpur Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTIThe cause of the crash was not immediately knownBhatia had around 3000 hours of flying experience the police commissioner saidThe aircraft was on a training flight in the Local Flying Area of Kanpur civil airport There were two persons on board a trainee pilot and an instructor Both sustained fatal injuries in the accident the civil aviation ministry said in a statementAAIB to conduct detailed investigationThe ministry said the AAIB had been informed about the accident and would carry out a detailed investigation under the applicable rulesThe Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB has been informed and will undertake a detailed investigation into the accident in accordance with the applicable rules The circumstances and cause of the accident will be determined through the investigation the statement saidA threemember team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will also visit the crash site for regulatory oversight and coordination the ministry addedPolice said aviation authorities would examine the aircrafts airworthiness maintenance records and other technical aspects as part of the investigationPolice and fire teams secure crash sitePolice and fire personnel rushed to the site after the crash cordoned off the area and secured the wreckage for the investigation Lal saidSenior police and fire officials including Additional Commissioners of Police Vipin Tada and Sankalp Sharma and Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma visited the site following the accidentVideos from the crash site showed the aircraft reduced to wreckage with debris scattered across the surrounding areaA seat was also seen outside the main wreckage However officials have not confirmed whether the two occupants attempted to escape from the aircraft before the crashAuthorities are expected to examine the wreckage and other evidence to establish the sequence of events leading to the accidentAircraft had been operating with Garg Aviation since 2023The aircraft had been operated by Garg Aviation since 2023 according to the companyGarg Aviation claimed that the aircraft had no maintenancerelated deficiencies before the accidentThe claim along with the aircrafts maintenance history and technical condition is likely to be examined as part of the official investigationThe Tecnam P2006T is a twinengine aircraft commonly used for pilot training Investigators will examine several aspects of the flight including the aircrafts condition maintenance records weather and operating conditions and events during the training sortieCause of accident yet to be establishedOfficials stressed that the circumstances and cause of the crash have not yet been determinedThe AAIB investigation is expected to establish the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify any factors that may have contributed to the crashWith inputs from PTI