Kanpur Trainer Aircraft Crash, Both Pilots Killed

A twin-engine trainer aircraft crashed near the banks of the Ganga river in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday morning, PTI reported. Both pilots on board—the instructor and the trainee—were killed in the crash, ANI reported citing police. The aircraft took off from the Garg Aviation Training Centre at 11:30 AM and crashed approximately 20 minutes later at 11:50 AM.

Victims Identified By Police

Police identified the instructor as Sachin Bhatia, a resident of Gujarat who had about 3,000 hours of flying experience. The trainee pilot was Abhishek Pujari, a resident of Karnataka, Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghuveer Lal said.

"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 said.

DGCA Launches Detailed Probe

The crashed aircraft was a four-seater, dual-engine Tecnam plane, which was brought to Kanpur for training in 2023, Lal said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed and will investigate the crash, Lal said. The police have cordoned off the area to protect it and have removed the bodies from the site.

"This is a four-seater, dual-engine plane. We have learned that the instructor had about 3,000 hours of flying experience. The DGCA has been informed, and their team will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. For now, the police have cordoned off the entire area to protect it. The bodies have been removed from the site," Lal said.