Pilot killed in two-seater plane crash, wreckage found

The young pilot of a two- seater training aircraft, which went missing yesterday after it took off from Bisri Airfield in Gondia in Maharashtra, was killed when it crashed into the mountains, Police said today.

The wreckage of the plane belonging to Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Institute in Gondia was found near Chhindwara in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh today, police said, adding the pilot's body was also recovered from the crash site. The 19-year-old trainee pilot Suhail Ansari, who was on a solo sortie, lost his way due to the fog, Chhindwara district police chief Purshottam Sharma said.

He hailed from Bijnore district in Uttar Pradesh. As a result the plane hit the mountains in Sitadongri and crashed, he said.

Sharma said people of Pandhan village near Sitadongri informed the police about the plane crash following which a search was launched.

The aircraft, owned by Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Akademy in Rae Bareli in UP, took off from Gondia at 12.30 PM yesterday and was due to return at 2.45 PM.

However, it lost touch with the air traffic control after take off. The ATC tried contacting Ansari, but both the aircraft and the pilot remained untraceable.

A search plane also failed to trace the missing aircraft yesterday. Every year during peak winter season, trainee pilots from the Rae Bareli-based institute come to Birsi airport in Gondia for their training as foggy weather condition in North India during this period is not suitable for flying training.

This year also a fleet of trainee aircraft and pilots are in Birsi, where weather remains largely clear.