After two crashes in 4 days, Redbird grounded

The development came after an aircraft, Tecnam P2008 JC, crashed in Baramati on Sunday. Student pilot Parvati Vinod Nair and her instructor Ayan Amar Das sustained injuries. On October 19, a pilot and a co-pilot sustained injuries after their aircraft crash-landed near Katfal village due to an alleged engine failure

Mumbai: After two crash landings within four days at Baramati in Pune district, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday indefinitely suspended flying training activities of Redbird Flight Training Academy at all its bases.

In a statement issued by the DGCA on Monday, it said, “The occurrences indicate gaps in maintenance and operational elements. DGCA has accordingly, suspended the operations of M/s Redbird Flight Training Academy at all their bases in the country.” (HT PHOTO)

The development came after an aircraft, Tecnam P2008 JC, crashed in Baramati on Sunday. Student pilot Parvati Vinod Nair and her instructor Ayan Amar Das sustained injuries. On October 19, a pilot and a co-pilot sustained injuries after their aircraft crash-landed near Katfal village due to an alleged engine failure.

In a statement issued by the DGCA on Monday, it said, “The occurrences indicate gaps in maintenance and operational elements. DGCA has accordingly, suspended the operations of M/s Redbird Flight Training Academy at all their bases in the country.”

After Sunday’s incident, Anil Gill, director of flying and training, DGCA, sent an email to Redbird academy, stating, “This is the fifth accident of your academy in the last six months pertaining to engine failure or any other maintenance related issue.”

Vikram Dev Dutt, director general of DGCA, said that these occurrences indicate gaps in maintenance and operational elements. “DGCA is also undertaking special maintenance audit and proficiency checks for the trainer/examiners of the training academy before permitting the resumption of their operations,” he said.

In the first incident on October 19, Dutt said that investigations have revealed the crew experienced engine-related snagging and loss of power at around 100 feet. “The crew decided to discontinue the sortie and crash-landed just outside the fence towards the north of the field. This sortie was undertaken to assess the snag (abnormal noise and brake issue) observed in the previous sortie. However, he did not notify/record the snag for appropriate action by the AME,” he said. “In the second incident on Sunday, while climbing to a cleared altitude of 2,500 feet, the aircraft experienced loss of power.”

The instructor discontinued the sortie and carried out the forced landing in a field at around 2 nautical miles (NM) from the airport, Dutt said, adding, “After the impact, the aircraft turned upside down.”

With 24 aircraft, Redbird has bases at Baramati in Pune, Seoni in Madhya Pradesh, Ilabari in Assam, Belagavi and Gulbarga in Karnataka. It also has a base in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A spokesperson of Redbird Flight Training Academy said that they are complying with the DGCA order as safety is paramount for them. “We are the largest training academy in India and have six bases with 24 aircraft. The two aircraft involved in incidents at Baramati had technical snags. The DGCA will probe the forced landings.”

“We are also undertaking an external audit being conducted by an esteemed panel of aviation experts. As a specific area of expertise, all our cadets are trained to proficiently execute forced landings safely and securely in the unlikely situation wherein a technical snag occurs in the aircraft,” the spokesperson added.