MUMBAI: A training aircraft crashed into the Wainganga river in Gondia district of Maharashtra today, killing both the instructor and the trainee pilot who were on- board the four-seater plane.
The crash took place at 0940 hours, according to the police, after one of the engines of the aircraft, DA42, got stuck in a rope-way, barely 20 minutes of its take-off from the Birsi Airport.
The deceased were identified as senior flight instructor Ranjan Gupta (45) and trainee pilot Himani Gurudayal Kalyani (24), they said.
The mishap took place some 35km from the district headquarters of Gondia in Vidarbha region, police said.
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, a wing of the Civil Aviation Ministry, has launched a probe into the accident, a source said.
The bureau is mandated to probe all serious incidents and accidents involving Indian planes.
The twin-engine aircraft belonging to the National Flying Training Institute, Gondia, was on a routine sortie with only the instructor and the trainee pilot on-board. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel