Vijayapuri (Karnataka): Two people, including the pilot, had a narrow escape when a private mini aircraft crashed into an open field in the district on Sunday afternoon, police sources said.
The two-seater aircraft belonging to Redbird Aviation in Kalaburagi crashed at Mangaluru village in Babaleshwar Taluk of Vijayapura district, they said.
Both the occupants ejected before it crashed, sources said, adding the aircraft broke into three pieces.
Those who survived the accident were identified as Captain Kunal Malhotra, who is an Assistant Flight Instructor (AFI) at Redbird Aviation, and trainee pilot Goutham Sankar P R.
The duo sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital, they added.
It is said that the training aircraft was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi, though more details are awaited.
A civil aviation ministry spokesperson said, “Redbird Flying Training Academy Limited’s Cessna 172 Aircraft, VT-EUC (MSN-17265717), made a forced landing in a field near Bagalkot, 100 km east of Belgavi Airport. It is reported that both the instructor and the cadet are safe.”
According to the ministry, the 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 an 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 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.
