The 12-seater aircraft was grounded for almost six years before it took off for a test flight after extensive repairs on Thursday, June 28.
After a brief puja for the success of its maiden flight following a long repair session, 12-seater Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft took off for a test run from Juhu aipstrip in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon. Six minutes after take off, the ill-fated plane crashed into a densely populated area in Ghatkopar area killing all four on board and a person on the ground. Luckily, the aircraft missed a housing society by a few metres and crashed into an underconstruction site.
The aircraft, which was owned by the Uttar Pradesh government before it decided to sell it off in 2014 to Mumbai-based U Y Aviation Pvt Limited, had been grounded for almost six years. After undergoing extensive repairs for over a year and a half, the ill-fated plane was made to go on a test flight with a certificate of airworthiness.
The aircraft gave no distress or "Mayday" to the air traffic control which indicates that things inside the cockpit of the plane went out of control suddenly. The aircraft's Flight Data Recorder or Black Box has been retrieved and the actual cause of the crash can only ascertained after a detailed investigation.
The aircraft missed a housing society by a few metres and crashed into an underconstruction site.
Anil Chauhan, accountable manager of UY Aviation, told Times of India that the plane was under the maintenance of another company - Indamer. "The aircraft was not yet handed over to us, it did not have a certificate of airworthiness," the newspaper quoted Chauhan, as saying.
Pilots Maria Zuberi, 48, and Pradeep Rajput, engineer Surabhi Brijeshkumar Gupta, 34, technician Manish Tejpal Pande, 21 and pedestrian Govind Pandit were killed in the crash. Captain Pradeep Rajput had over 5,000 hours of flying experience and Captain Mariya Zuberi was formerly with Jet Airways.
Engineer Surabhi, who was more than two months pregnant, and her colleague, aircraft junior technician Manish Pandey, both were employees of Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd (IAPL).
Watch: 5 killed in plane crash om Mumbai's Ghatkopar
(With inputs from agencies)