A trainee pilot and a flying instructor were killed on Thursday when a twin-engine training aircraft crashed near Ganga Barrage, roughly 5 nautical miles from Kanpur Civil Airport, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The accident has triggered a formal investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and regulatory oversight by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

What Happened

The aircraft, a Tecnam P2006T twin-engine plane bearing registration VT-NBV, was operated by M/s Garg Aviation Ltd., Kanpur. It took off from the Garg Aviation training centre at 11:30 am on a routine local training flight. The crash occurred at approximately 11:50 am as the aircraft was returning to the training centre, officials said.

Visuals from the crash site showed the aircraft completely wrecked in a grassy, wooded area. Officials said the plane lost control before impact, though the exact cause remains under investigation.

The Victims

The two deceased have been identified as Sachin Bhatia from Gujarat and Abhishek Pujari from Karnataka. Both sustained fatal injuries. Kanpur Nagar Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal confirmed that the flying instructor had accumulated approximately 3,000 hours of flight experience. 'We have got information about the instructor. He had an experience of around 3,000 hours. The DGCA has been informed. Their team will conduct a thorough investigation. The police have protected the entire area,' Lal said.

The training aircraft had been inducted into the centre in 2023, according to officials. Emergency services and law enforcement rushed to the spot immediately after the incident was reported.

Official Response and Investigation

A team of three DGCA officials has been dispatched to the crash site for regulatory oversight and coordination. The AAIB has been formally notified and will conduct a detailed investigation in accordance with applicable rules to determine the circumstances and cause of the accident.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the bereaved families, praying for the peace of the departed souls and for the families to bear the loss.

A Troubling Pattern for Training Aviation

This incident comes amid a series of accidents involving training aircraft in recent months, raising questions about safety oversight in India's general aviation sector. In June, a woman pilot escaped with minor injuries after a two-seater trainee aircraft crashed into a field in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj district. Before that, in May, a training aircraft belonging to Redbird Flight Training Academy made a hard landing near Gojubavi village in Maharashtra's Baramati.

Notably, this is at least the third training aviation incident reported in India within a span of roughly three months, a pattern that is likely to draw renewed scrutiny on DGCA's oversight of flying training organisations. The AAIB's findings, once published, will be closely watched by the industry.