Punjab: NCC group commander killed, cadet injured as training aircraft crashes in Patiala

PATIALA: The group commander of the third Punjab Air Squadron National Cadet Corps (NCC), Gurpreet Singh Cheema, was killed, while one of the trainee cadets, Vipan Yadav, was seriously injured as a microlight training aircraft crashed inside the army fence at Patiala Cantonment immediately after taking off from the airstrip of Patiala Aviation club in Punjab on Monday afternoon.
The two-seater Pipistrel Virus SW aircraft, which is used for training the NCC cadets, lost flight as its engine stopped immediately after it left the ground. The left wing of the aircraft hit an eucalyptus tree on the side of Patiala-Sangrur Highway before it fell on the ground inside the army fence.
Gurpreet Cheema, a veteran MIG21 pilot, along with trainee Vipan Yadav were pulled out of the aircraft and rushed to the Military Hospital, where Cheema succumbed to his injuries. He had reportedly suffered a head injury.
Gurpreet Singh Cheema, a regular at the Patiala Aviation Club, along with Vipan took off from the airstrip around 2pm and soon after leaving the ground, the small single-engine aircraft reported certain issues and its engine ceased to roar.