Cessna C172 veers off runway during training exercise; aircraft sustains minor damage
Mumbai: A training aircraft operated by a private company crash-landed at the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Sunday. While no casualties were reported, the aircraft was damaged in the incident, said police.
The incident occurred at around 12.30 pm while a Cessna C172 trainer aircraft operated by the Academy of Carver Aviation, a DGCA-approved flying training organisation, veered off the runway during a training exercise at Baramati Airfield, police said. The two pilots onboard were not injured and the aircraft sustained minor damage.
This comes seven months after the then Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP was killed in a crash during a landing attempt at the Baramati airstrip.
Pune Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Sandeep Singh Gill stated that the aircraft veered off the extended paved surface to the right side beyond the runway. “An aircraft VT-SEX was involved in a runway excursion incident at Baramati Airfield during a training exercise, with Capt Chirag Shashikant Doifode and Cadet Abhijeet Jundre on board. No injuries have been reported,” he said.
“The aircraft initially entered the runway through Link Bravo, lined up at the threshold of Runway 29 and carried out a rejected take-off. Thereafter, the aircraft was lined up at the threshold of Runway 11, where another rejected take-off was carried out. During the course of this exercise, the aircraft could not be brought to a complete stop on the runway and continued beyond the threshold of Runway 29. Subsequently, it veered off the extended paved surface to the right side beyond the Runway 29 threshold,” he added.
A senior police official said the precise cause had not yet been determined and that investigators were looking into the possibility of a technical snag or another technical issue.
“The incident took place near the airstrip. We are investigating whether the aircraft developed a technical snag or if there were any other technical problems. It is too early to comment on anything,” the official said.
This is the third mishap reported at the Baramati airport this year. On January 28, Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others after their Learjet 45 plane crashed near Baramati airport. On May 13, a trainer aircraft operated by another private aviation company made a crash landing near the Baramati airstrip after developing a technical problem. No casualties were reported in that incident.
