Trainer aircraft crashes in Baramati, pilot injured

A trainer aircraft crashed in an empty plot in Baramati Tuesday afternoon, injuring the pilot, police said.

A trainer aircraft crashed in an empty plot in Baramati Tuesday afternoon, injuring the pilot, police said.

Locals watch a trainer aircraft which crashed in Baramati in Maharashtra on Tuesday. (HT PHOTO)

The aircraft with the call sign VT-RDX was from Carver Aviation, a private aviation training academy and the pilot was identified as Siddharth Titus.

The plane nosedived near a school in Rui village of Pune district. No one else was hurt in the crash.

“As per the initial information from the pilot, the engine of the plane failed and he had to find a place to land. He told us that he looked for other places to land before crashing on the spot near the school,” said assistant police inspector (API) SS Kangude, in-charge of Walchandnagar police station under Pune rural police jurisdiction.

The pilot was alone in the aircraft and was carrying out an emergency landing training exercise.

Titus was rushed to a hospital in Rui village with injuries on his hands, police said. A complete statement from Titus is yet to be recorded. “For now, this will be recorded as an accident. Further investigation is required,” said API Kangude.

Academy of Carver Aviation Pvt Ltd. declined to make a statement.