Ghatkopar plane crash: Had met requirements for test flight, says owner of aircraft

Five persons were killed when the chartered aircraft crashed in Ghatkopar on Thursday. Deepak Joshi

THREE days after a plane crashed in Ghatkopar killing five, the owner of the aircraft, UY Aviation, Sunday said they had fulfilled requirements and taken “necessary” approvals before taking the test flight. The aircraft Beechcraft King Air C90 operating under the call sign VT-UPZ was “still to be released for service”.

The aircraft company had bought the plane from an aviation firm in Pune, which had bought the plane from the government of Uttar Pradesh in 2016. The company was conducting the test flight of the aircraft on Thursday for receiving the ‘certificate of airworthiness’.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Mumbai-based private chartered aircraft firm also said that “it is extending its full co-operation to all the regulatory and law enforcement agencies involved in the aftermath of the tragic crash.” Five people, four crew members including two pilots and a pedestrian, lost their lives when the 12-seater plane on a test flight crashed into an under-construction building on Thursday. The aviation company confirmed in their statement that, while the aircraft left from Juhu airport at 12.20 pm, it lost touch with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 1 pm.

“It is pertinent to note that this aircraft was not operating on the ‘Non scheduled operators permit’ of UY Aviation Private Limited as it was still to be released to service. We are committed to extending all possible help and assistance to the bereaved families of the victims during the time of grief and loss,” their statement added.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, investigating the crash, is expected to submit it’s preliminary report in 15 days.