7 months after plane crash, FIR filed against aviation firm

A case was registered Wednesday against senior officials of UY Aviation in connection with the plane crash in suburban Ghatkopar in which five people were killed in June last year, police said.

The case was registered by the Ghatkopar police against senior officials of UY Aviation, including Deepak Kochri, Anil Chauhan Vinod Sai and other concerned parties, they said.

They were booked under sections 304 (2) (culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and other relevant section of the IPC.

The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Prabhat Kathuria, the husband of co-pilot Marya Zuberi, who lost her life in the mishap, along with four others.

In the complaint, Prabhat Kathuria, a resident of suburban Mira Road, alleged that his wife was unaware that the ill-fated aircraft didn't have necessary permission to fly.

Hence, he feels Marya Zuberi was "cheated" by the aircraft company, according to the complaint.

The complainant further said following the accident on June 28, 2018 a standing committee on labour began inquiry into the matter.

"As per their report, we understood that in 2014 the Uttar Pradesh Government, which owned the plane initially, had put it up for sale as scrap, following an accident.

"It was eventually bought by UY Aviation before the plane was repaired," he said.

"I have a feeling they flouted all the safety norms for test flight. The repair of the plain was done by untrained technicians," he added in the complaint.

No arrest have been made until now and further investigation into the matter was underway, the police said.

Five persons were killed when the aircraft, while on a test flight, crashed in the crowded Jagruti Nagar area of Ghatkopar.

Those killed included two pilots and as many flight engineers on board and a pedestrian, police had said.

The ill-fated King Air C90 12-seater aircraft had taken off from the Juhu airstrip.