The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating two separate trainer aircraft incidents in Uttar Pradesh within four days. One involved a Cessna 152 crash-landing in Kasganj with the pilot safe, and the other saw a trainee pilot injured by a propeller at Kanpur airport.
A trainer aircraft operated by a private company made a crash landing in Baramati, Pune district, Maharashtra, due to a technical snag. The trainee pilot, the sole occupant, escaped safely with no serious injuries.
On January 28 this year, a private charter plane carrying then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others crashed near the Baramati airstrip, killing all on board.
A trainer aircraft crashed in Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, after hitting a power line, injuring the pilot and flight instructor. The aircraft belonged to Redbird Flight Training Academy.
Two Indian Air Force pilots were killed when a Jaguar trainer aircraft crashed near Churu, Rajasthan. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.
The aircraft carried a trainer and a trainee pilot at the time of the crash.
The DGCA has has commenced an investigation to ascertain the cause of the incident.
The aircraft crashed 3 km away from Chorhatta airstrip after hitting the dome of a temple and a tree while on a training sortie, said Chorhatta police station in-charge J P Patel.
Aviation regulator DGCA had flagged safety issues concerning Tecnam aircraft over a month before a Tecnam P2006T training aircraft crashed in Kanpur on August 27, killing a trainee pilot and an instructor.
This is the fourth peacetime crash of an IAF jet in 2025 so far.
Ahmedabad's Chief Fire Officer, Amit Dongre, reflected on the Air India flight AI-171 crash a year ago, describing the 10-hour rescue operation as the most challenging in his 22-year career, despite the tragic loss of 260 lives.
According to IAF, the pilots were on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred.
Squadron Leader Lokendra Singh Sindhu, an Indian Air Force pilot killed in a Jaguar fighter jet crash, had recently become a father. His family in Haryana was in celebration mode before the tragedy. He leaves behind his wife and a month-old son.
The officer said the aircraft was on a regular training sortie when the incident occurred.
The death of a young pilot and three fighter jet crashes prompt the question -- should there be more simulation training?
'It is most pertinent to note that in over 25 years of flying, Captain Sabharwal had not had a single incident or accident-causing fatalities or otherwise'
Defence sources said the pilot spotted fire during the take off roll, aborted the take off and carried out safe exit.
The pilot ejected safely and a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the IAF said in a brief statement.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
The navy has deployed surveillance aircraft and ships to locate the missing pilot.
The aircraft was on 'routine training sortie' when it crashed off the Goa coast around 10.30 am. The twin engine, single-seater aircraft developed a 'technical snag' due to which it crashed.
"While both the pilots ejected from the aircraft before it crashed in the Arabian sea, the defence forces could rescue only one pilot. Search is still on for the second pilot," Ministry of Defence, PRO Captain Abhay Lambhate said.
'The Pakistanis were not the mujahids or terrorists as claimed initially.' .'They were trained soldiers who held state of the art anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down our airplanes.'
Official data showed that 11 accidents occurred in 2011, nine in 2012, eight in 2013 and two till March and in most of these cases, the choppers suffered substantial damage, apart from the 52 fatalities.
The mishap occurred during a sortie as part of the rehearsal for AeroIndia.
50 terrorists had been killed this year while 12 security forces personnel lost their lives.
In memory and honour of Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi who lost his life in the crash, the HAL-built aircraft will fly the missing man formation.
According to the IAF official, 41 aircraft would participate in the flight display on the inaugural day while there would be 63 aircraft on static display.
Airlines tell Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis they are forced to look at expats due to a lack of commanders, a position that requires experience.
A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.
