Aircraft firm ignored warnings: Victim pilot’s husband

Advocate Prabhat Kathuria, husband of co-pilot Capt Maria Zuibair, who was killed in an aircraft crash at Ghatkopar in Mumbai on Thursday, said that M/s UY Aviation Pvt Ltd “seems to have ignored weather warnings and decided to undertake the "test flight" during inclement weather conditions over Mumbai”. Reacting to the crash in which his pilot-wife was killed, Kathuria said: “Maria told me last evening and this morning as well that the weather was not good.. Capt Rajput had flown in from New Delhi to undertake the test flight. What was the hurry (to undertake a test flight)?. They clearly ignored weather warnings".

"Capt Rajput was an experienced pilot...recently Maria had flown another test flight. It is because of her and another senior pilot’s experience that they ensured the aircraft did not fall in a crowded locality or the school,” Kathuria said. Kathuria indicated that he might consider lodging a police complaint or file a legal case against   M/s UY Aviation Pvt Ltd for its apparent negligence leading to the mishap. “The company is answerable.....We would think about it,” Kathuria said, when asked if he intended to lodge a police complaint or file a legal case against M/s UY Aviation Pvt Ltd. Capt Maria was among five persons killed, when  a 12-seater chartered Beechcraft aircraft crashed into an under-construction building site at the congested residential suburb of Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, the aircraft crash has thrown up one more vital question: why was the aircraft in the "funnel zone" of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, meant for commercial flights? The rules relating to funnel zone needs to be followed strictly," RTI activist Anil Galgali said. Former Minorities Affairs Minister and senior Congressman Naseem Khan rooted form a detailed inquiry into the circumstances leading to the mishap.  "How can the aircraft come here  (residential aircraft)?," Khan asked.

BJP MP Dr Kirit Somaiya wanted to know how could an aircraft under repair be allowed to undertake test run over a residential area. "Who gave permission or certification for undertaking such a flight? The guidelines need to be looked into,” he said.