UP: IGRUA trainer aircraft catches fire after uncontrolled landing, pilot ejects safely

A two-seater aircraft at a state-run flying training institute here caught fire after an uncontrolled landing on Monday, officials said.

The pilot ejected safely in time, they said.

The incident took place at 3.20 pm at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) in Fursatganj area when the trainee pilot attempted a landing at the runway, according to the institute's officials.

The flying cadet, who is around 20 years old, was on his second solo sortie in the Czechoslovakia-made Zlin aircraft, they said.

Chief Administrative Officer, IGRUA, Sandip Puri, said the aircraft veered off the runway after landing, turned towards a grass field and caught fire.

"The pilot ejected in time and is safe," he said.

IGRUA spokesperson Ram Kishor Dwivedi said the cause of fire is being ascertained.

"The matter has been reported to the Air Safety Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation," he said.

This is the first such incident in the over three-decade history of the institute that a fire broke out in an aircraft upon landing, he added.

"The aircraft, which has ability to undergo acrobatics, has gone beyond economic repair condition due to the fire," Dwivedi said.

"The flying cadet skilfully used the contingency plan taught (during the training) to eject safely," he said.