Trainer aircraft overturns while landing in MP’s Seoni district; woman pilot safe

A trainer aircraft overturned while landing at Suktara airstrip in the district on Friday morning but its trainee woman pilot was safe, the police said.

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The aircraft flipped over due to a faulty landing, said a police official.

The airstrip is 22 km from the Seoni district headquarters.

The trainee woman pilot who was flying the aircraft alone did not suffer any injuries, said the official.

While the airstrip is maintained by the Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department, it is used by Delhi-based Red Bird Aviation Company to run a pilot training school.

District Collector Sanskriti Jain said the concerned department has been asked to conduct an inquiry, after which the exact cause of the accident will become clear.

Employees of Red Bird Aviation Company emptied the fuel tank of the aircraft immediately after the incident. A major tragedy was averted as the aircraft did not catch fire during the crash-landing, said the police official.

Barghat Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Lalit Ghatre said the employees of Red Bird Aviation Company did not inform the police about the incident which took place under the Kurai police station limits.

They informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s Bhopal office which in turn alerted the police. The police then contacted the company’s airstrip manager Santosh Sanodia and obtained details, Ghatre said.

When contacted for his comments, Sanodia refused to speak.

Meanwhile, a DGCA team will soon reach Suktara airstrip and prepare a report after an inspection, the police official said.

According to preliminary information, the trainee pilot tried to land the aircraft with the front landing gear instead of the rear one, due to which the aircraft went out of control and overturned, officials said.

Flights of trainee aircraft from Suktara airstrip have been stopped for the time being, they added.