‘ Pilot’s presence of mind saves lives’
5 killed as plane crashes in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar
Five people died when a 12- seater chartered aircraft crashed into an under- construction building in Mumbai’s crowded Ghatkopar suburb on Thursday afternoon.
The Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft had taken off from the Juhu airstrip on a test flight. The pilot wanted to make an emergency landing at Mumbai airport but crashed some distance away in Ghatkopar, killing all four on board — pilots Capt P. S. Rajput and Capt Maria, two aircraft maintenance engineers, Manish Pandey and Surbhi — and a pedestrian.
The aircraft belonged to a Mumbai- based company, UY Aviation Pvt Ltd, which had been bought it from the UP government in 2014.
CCTV footage from a residential building across the road shows the plane diving down, hitting a red vehicle on the road and then immediately bursting into a ball of fire on hitting the ground.
Officials and locals said that the pilot had diverted the aircraft to the secluded spot to crash land to cause minimum damage and loss of lives.
“We salute the pilot who showed presence of mind and avoided a big mishap, saving many lives at the cost of her own life,” tweeted Praful Patel, former civil aviation minister.
“It could have been a major mishap if the aircraft had crashed into any of the buildings nearby,” said a resident from the adjoining building.
The black box of the aircraft has been recovered and the DGCA has been asked to investigate the crash.
Five people died after a 12seater King Air C90 chartered aircraft crashed inside the compound of an open under- construction site in Ghatkopar on Thursday afternoon at a time when it was allegedly on a test sortie. Among the dead were the aircraft’s four- member crew — pilots Capt. P. S. Rajput and Capt. Maria, two aircraft maintenance engineers, Manish Pandey and Surbhi — and a pedestrian near the crash site.
The deceased and the injured, at least two of them, were sent to Rajawadi Hospital. The aircraft ( VT- UPZ) had taken off from Juhu Airport and crashed around 1 pm. Teams of officials from the fire brigade and police reached the spot to undertake fire fighting, and search and rescue operations. The aircraft belonged to a Mumbai- based company, U Y Aviation Pvt Ltd. According to officials, the aircraft was bought from the UP government in 2014.
Several residential buildings surround the crash site with one building under construction with makeshift tenements for labourers.
Fire officials received a call at 1: 16 pm when the aircraft had crashed into Old Maniklal lane in Ghatkopar West.
“The investigation is ongoing and the report would be out in the next 23 days. Nothing concrete has been discovered from the site. We would need to speak with people present during the take- off and officials from the aviation firm to ascertain the reasons behind the crash,” said Hemant Parab, chief fire officer ( CFO),
Mumbai Fire Brigade.
The fire was doused by 1.40 pm. A team of the National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) also joined the fire brigade to remove debris from the site.
An official statement from the DGCA ( Director
General of Civil Aviation) stated, “The aircraft took off from Juhu airport for a test flight. A DGCA team is on the way for a preliminary investigation. AAIB ( Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) shall perform a detailed probe.”