Govt says 50-year-old trainer aircraft crashed due to inadequate fuel near Belagavi airport
New Delhi (PTI): An over 50-year-old Cessna 172 trainer aircraft of Redbird Flight Training Academy made a force landing in Karnataka on Sunday due to inadequate fuel and both pilots are safe, the civil aviation ministry said.
The aircraft VT-EUC, which was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi crashed landed in an open field near Vijayapura and the site is around 50 to 70 kilometres from the Belagavi airport.
The flight instructor and a trainee pilot were onboard the aircraft, which broke into three pieces after the crash landing, sources said.
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In a statement on Sunday evening, the ministry said the force landing happened "due to suspected fuel starvation experienced by the aircraft" and that the plane was manufactured in 1975.
The aircraft's certificate of registration with Redbird was issued on May 23, 2023 and the certificate of airworthiness was issued on September 20, 2023.
According to the ministry, Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) was issued on August 1, 2025 and is valid till August 3, 2026.
ARC is issued after inspection of the particular aircraft to ensure that it is fit to fly.
The Pilot In Command (PIC) had 734 hours of flying experience.
Redbird Flight Training Academy has 48 planes in its fleet and its Flying Training Organisation (FTO) approval is valid till July 22, 2030.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved the academy as a FTO on July 23, 2020, as per the statement.
The ministry said "further investigation will be carried out by DGCA/AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau)”.
Meanwhile, the pilots who were injured in the accident are Captain Kunal Malhotra, who is an Assistant Flight Instructor (AFI) at Redbird Aviation, and trainee pilot Goutham Sankar P R.
A senior official at the Redbird Flight Training Academy told PTI that after the crash, the pilots underwent medical checkups and both are safe.
Prima-facie it looks like that the Pilot-In-Command and the Trainee Pilot forgot to uplift enough fuel for the flight as a result of which there was the forced landing of the aircraft, the official said.
There was no official statement from the academy.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
