Locals at the crash site. A pilot was killed and another injured after a two-seater aircraft crashed during a navigation sortie near Chopda in Jalgaon district on Friday.
Around 4 pm, the trainer aircraft, a Tecnam Single Engine aircraft, came crashing down, leaving pilot Narul Amin dead on the spot. Trainee pilot, Ankita Gujar, meanwhile, suffered injuries in the crash. She has been taken to Mumbai’s Nanavati hospital for treatment.
BJP legislator and Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVPKM) president Amrish Patel said the trainer had many years of flying experience. The aircraft belongs to the SVPKM-run NMIMS Academy of Aviation that is located in Dhule’s Shirpur.
Hitesh Patel, the director of NMIMS academy, said, “The aircraft had taken off from Shirpur at 3 pm and was flying from Shirpur in Dhule to Shegaon and back. It was on a navigation sortie. It appears that the aircraft crashed 45 minutes at Wadvi on Jalgaon-Chopda Road after the take-off. We were informed (about the crash) by local residents.”
Local police said the weather was bad and it could have been the reason for the crash.
Dhule has two flying schools — one is owned by NMIMS and the second by Bombay Flying Club. Teams from both these institutes have reached the spot to retrieve the damaged plane, which was registered in 2020.
The DGCA, meanwhile, has initiated an inquiry and teams have been sent to investigate the crash, DGCA director general Arun Kumar said.
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