2 die as plane crashes in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: A TRAINEE pilot and his instructor were killed when their Cessna trainer aircraft crashed into a residential locality here on Monday.

There were no casualties on the ground as the twin-seater aircraft, belonging to Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, landed in an open space between the two residential blocks in Sanathnagar area. Minutes after its take-off from Begumpet airport, the Cessna-152 aircraft developed technical snag and the flight instructor tried to make an emergency landing after sending an SOS to the air traffic control. Soon, the aircraft, flying low, hit high-tension power lines and crashed like a ball of fire. It hit the roof of one of the residential buildings and then went down. Soon, fire engulfed the ill-fated aircraft. The trainee pilot P Srinivas (22) died on the spot and his body was charred beyond recognition. Neraj Jain (26), an assistant flight instructor, was still breathing when local residents reached the wreckage. He succumbed to his injuries before being shifted to hospital. The city Police Commissioner B Prasad Rao said the aircraft took off from Begumpet air field at 11 am and the mishap occurred within minutes of the take-off. The aircraft crashed amid houses, creating panic in the area. No one was injured on the ground though a couple of houses were partially damaged when some debris fell on the roofs. Some youth tried to douse the fire by pouring buckets of water but could not succeed. The fire brigade and police personnel later rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations. The post mortem was conducted on the bodies of trainee pilot and instructor at Gandhi Hospital. A team of officials from the Directorate of Civil Aviation, Delhi, arrived later in the evening to go into the cause of the mishap. The police said a major disaster was averted as the aircraft crashed on a deserted street. The aircraft took off from Begumpet airport, which was shut down for commercial operations in March this year with the inauguration of new international airport at Shamshabad, about 35 km from the city. The old airport is now being used for non-commercial operations.