A private training aircraft crashed into an open field in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district on Sunday afternoon, but both occupants narrowly escaped death after ejecting from the aircraft moments before impact, officials said.
The two-seater aircraft, operated by Redbird Aviation and based in Kalaburagi, went down near Mangaluru village in Babaleshwar taluk. Police sources said the incident occurred during a routine training flight, triggering an emergency situation that forced the pilot to attempt a controlled landing.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft descend rapidly before crashing into agricultural land. The impact caused the plane to break into three pieces, scattering debris across the field. Local residents rushed to the site and alerted emergency services, allowing swift medical assistance to reach the injured occupants.
The survivors were identified as Captain Kunal Malhotra, an Assistant Flight Instructor at Redbird Aviation, and trainee pilot Goutham Sankar P R. Both sustained injuries during the incident and were immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Medical officials confirmed that their condition is stable and they are out of danger.
Initial information indicates that the aircraft was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi as part of a scheduled training sortie. However, the exact cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed, and officials said further details would emerge after a technical assessment of the wreckage.
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that Redbird Flying Training Academy Limited’s Cessna 172 aircraft, registered as VT-EUC, made a forced landing in a field near Bagalkot, approximately 100 kilometres east of Belagavi Airport. The spokesperson added that both the flight instructor and the cadet pilot were safe.
Aviation authorities have initiated a preliminary inquiry to determine what led to the forced landing. Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are expected to examine maintenance records, flight data, and crew reports to establish the sequence of events.
The incident has once again highlighted the importance of safety protocols during training operations, as the timely ejection by the crew played a crucial role in preventing loss of life.
More information is awaited as the investigation continues.