Trainer Aircraft Crashes in Maharashtra, Pilot Dies, Trainee Injured

The victim has been identified as pilot Narul Amin, and the trainee pilot, Ankita Gujar sustained fractures.

Locals gather near the site after a helicopter crashed in Jalgaon district, 16 July.

(Photo: PTI)

A pilot was killed and a trainee pilot was injured as a brand-new training aircraft of a private aviation academy crashed on Friday, 16 July in a remote field near Chopda village in Maharashtra's Jalgaon, officials said.

"The incident occurred around 4 pm when the light training aircraft suddenly came crashing down, killing the pilot instantly and injuring the student," villagers informed the police and district authorities.

The victims have been identified as pilot Narul Amin, and the trainee pilot Ankita Gujar, who suffered fractures in the crash.

The aircraft belonged to the NMIMS Academic of Aviation, linked with the reputed Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVPKM)'s group of educational institutions in Mumbai.

"It's a very unfortunate incident. The aircraft was a very new one and had got its certificate barely six months ago. The pilot was very senior and experienced. Something must have gone wrong somewhere."

Amrish Patel, President, SVPKM

Patel, who is also a BJP legislator, said that the aviation academy is shifting the injured woman to Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle, for treatment of her fractures.