Training Flight Ends in Tragedy: Two Pilots Killed as Aircraft Crashes Near Kanpur’s Ganga Barrage

A training flight turned fatal Thursday when a twin-engine aircraft crashed in a field near the Ganga Barrage in Kanpur, killing the instructor and trainee pilot on board.

The aircraft, operated by Kanpur-based Garg Aviation, took off from its training centre at about 11:30 a.m. and crashed roughly 20 minutes later near Natthupurwa village in the Katri area, according to Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal.

Police identified the deceased as Sachin Bhatia, a flying instructor from Gujarat, and Abhishek Pujari, a trainee pilot from Karnataka. Bhatia had about 3,000 hours of flying experience, according to Lal.

The crash occurred close to the banks of the Ganga, approximately five nautical miles from Kanpur Civil Airport, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation's preliminary account.

What happened during the training flight?

The aircraft departed the Garg Aviation Training Centre at approximately 11:30 a.m. for a training flight in the local flying area of Kanpur Civil Airport.

About 20 minutes later, it crashed while returning toward the training centre, police said. The aircraft came down in a field near Natthupurwa village, away from the main runway area.

Emergency personnel and police teams reached the crash site after receiving information about the accident. The wreckage was secured as investigators began collecting evidence.

Visuals from the site showed the aircraft extensively damaged, with sections of the fuselage and wings broken apart and debris scattered around the crash area.

There were no reports of casualties among people on the ground in the reports reviewed.

Who were the pilots?

The two people aboard the aircraft were identified as:

• Sachin Bhatia, the instructor pilot from Gujarat.
• Abhishek Pujari, the trainee pilot from Karnataka.

Police said Bhatia haTraining Flight Ends in Tragedy: Two Pilots Killed as Aircraft Crashes Near Kanpur’s Ganga Barraged approximately 3,000 hours of flying experience.

Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said the authorities had confirmed the presence of two people on the training flight and that both suffered fatal injuries.

“The DGCA has been informed. Their team will conduct a thorough investigation. The police have protected the entire area,” Lal said.

Aircraft identified as Tecnam P2006T

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said preliminary information identified the aircraft as a Tecnam P2006T, a twin-engine aircraft, with registration VT-NBV, operated by Garg Aviation Ltd. of Kanpur. The aircraft was flying in the local flying area of Kanpur Civil Airport when the accident occurred. The ministry said there were two people on board — an instructor and a trainee — and both suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft had reportedly been with Garg Aviation since 2023, according to officials cited by NDTV.

AAIB to investigate the crash

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will conduct the formal investigation into the accident. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the AAIB had been informed and would undertake a detailed investigation under the applicable rules. A team of three DGCA officials is also being sent to the crash site for regulatory oversight and coordination.

The ministry said, “The circumstances and cause of the accident will be determined through the investigation.”

The DGCA will examine regulatory and technical aspects, while the AAIB's accident investigation will seek to establish what led to the crash. At this stage, authorities have not established whether mechanical failure, weather, pilot action, loss of control or another factor caused the accident.

Some early reports described the aircraft as having lost control, but that should not be treated as the established cause until investigators determine what happened.

Company says aircraft had no maintenance deficiencies

Garg Aviation has said the aircraft, which it acquired in 2023, had no maintenance-related deficiencies, according to PTI-based reporting.

That is the company's claim and should not be interpreted as an official finding. Investigators will have to examine the aircraft's maintenance history, airworthiness records and technical condition before drawing any conclusions.

Police said the aircraft's airworthiness, maintenance records and other technical aspects would be examined as part of the investigation.

Previous Garg Aviation safety incident in June

The crash comes about two months after another serious incident involving Garg Aviation at Kanpur's Chakeri Airport.

On June 26, a trainee pilot was injured after being struck by the rotating propeller of a Tecnam P2006T while getting out of the aircraft following a night training sortie. The aircraft involved in that incident was also registered VT-NBV, according to contemporaneous reports.

The June incident prompted regulatory action, including the removal of the instructor involved from flying-training duties pending investigation and restrictions on use of the aircraft while the matter was examined. However, there is currently no official finding linking that June incident to Thursday's fatal crash. The connection between the two incidents should therefore not be presented as established fact.

Police secure crash site

Police and fire personnel reached the site soon after the crash and cordoned off the area. The wreckage was secured for examination, with senior police officers visiting the location. Commissioner Lal, Additional Commissioners of Police Vipin Tada and Sankalp Sharma and Chief Fire Officer Deepak Sharma were among the officials who reached the crash site, according to PTI.

Investigators are expected to examine the wreckage and reconstruct the aircraft's final moments. The location of the crash in an agricultural field near the Ganga Barrage also meant that the accident did not occur on the airport's runway or within the immediate airport complex. The aircraft was operating in the airport's local flying area.

Yogi Adityanath expresses condolences

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths and offered condolences to the families of the two pilots. He prayed for the departed souls and for strength for the bereaved families, according to reports.

What investigators will look for

The cause of the crash remains the central unanswered question.

The investigation is expected to examine several areas, including:

• The aircraft's maintenance and airworthiness records.
• Engine and mechanical condition.
• Flight-training and operational records.
• The aircraft's flight path before the crash.
• Weather and local flying conditions.
• Communications and other available flight information.
• The actions of the instructor and trainee before the accident.

Investigators will also examine the wreckage to determine whether there are indications of an in-flight technical failure, structural failure or another contributing factor. No conclusion should be drawn until the formal investigation establishes the sequence of events.

A developing aviation investigation

The Kanpur crash is the latest fatal accident involving a training aircraft to draw attention to aviation-training safety in India. But the immediate facts are clear: two people were aboard the Garg Aviation training flight, both died, and the aircraft crashed about 20 minutes after takeoff near Natthupurwa village.

The AAIB investigation will determine what caused the crash, while the DGCA will provide regulatory oversight and technical coordination. For now, authorities have secured the wreckage and begun the investigation into the final flight of the Tecnam aircraft.