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Kanpur: A trainee pilot and an instructor were killed on Thursday, August 27, when a training aircraft crashed in Kanpur along the banks of the Ganga, a senior police official said.

The Tecnam aircraft operated by Garg Aviation took off around 11:30 am and crashed about 20 minutes later near Nathapurwa village in the Katri area, Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Instructor Sachin Bhatia from Gujarat and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari from Karnataka died in the crash, the officer said, adding that Bhatia had around 3,000 hours of flying experience.

Police and fire personnel rushed to the site, cordoned off the area and secured the wreckage as evidence for investigation into the crash, the police commissioner said.

Police said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will examine the aircraft’s airworthiness, maintenance records and other technical aspects.

Preliminary information suggests it was a twin-engined aircraft.

Videos from the crash site showed the aircraft reduced to a wreck, with debris scattered around the area.

A seat was also seen outside the wreckage, though officials have not confirmed whether the pilots attempted to escape the plane.

The aircraft, which had been with Garg Aviation since 2023, had no maintenance-related deficiencies, the company claimed.

Commissioner Lal, Additional Commissioners of Police Vipin Tada and Sankalp Sharma and Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma went to the spot following the crash.

AAIB to probe Kanpur trainer aircraft crash

New Delhi: Probe agency AAIB will investigate the crash of the twin-engine trainer aircraft in Kanpur that killed the trainee pilot and the instructor on Thursday, August 27, afternoon, according to the civil aviation ministry.

Citing preliminary information, the ministry said a Tecnam P2006T twin-engine aircraft, bearing registration VT-NBV, met with an accident on Thursday afternoon, approximately 5 nautical miles from Kanpur Civil Airport near Ganga Barrage.

The plane was operated by Garg Aviation Ltd, Kanpur.

“The 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 ministry said in a statement.

A team of three officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be visiting the crash site for necessary regulatory oversight and coordination.

“The 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 said.