The second edition of the India Aviation 2010 opened on a tragic note when an aircraft of a naval aerobatic team crashed into a residential area, killing the two pilots and seriously injuring four others.
Kiran MK-II, which was part of the ‘Sagar Pawan’ aerobatic team, was one of the four aircraft flying in formation when the incident took place around noon, after the formal inauguration of the international exhibition and conference on civil aviation here.
Police officials said both the pilots — Suresh Mourya and Rahul Naik — were killed in the accident. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition. The injured, residing on the top floor of the three-storey building, where the plane crashed, were shifted to a local hospital.
The aircraft, built by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, lost control while breaking away from the formation and went into a spiral, crashing into the building at New Bowenpally, about four km from the old Begumpet airport, where the display was on.
Within minutes, the New Bowenpally area was cordoned off. The police, army, Central Reserve Police Force and Rapid Action Force were deployed to retrieve the two-seater aircraft. The building had mobile phone towers atop it.
With people thronging the areas to see the remnants of the aircraft, movement of fire brigade and ambulances were hindered for a while.
The house, which belonged to L Ramesh Kumar, an engineer, looked charred on one side and developed cracks all over it. Fuel from the aircraft splattered, calling caution from the fire brigade and others in dealing with it. Streams of water were let into the building to ensure that the fuel spillage did not catch fire.
The house owners were not present when the crash took place.
“I heard a big sound and there were flames everywhere,” said N Suresh, an eyewitness. This was the second such incident, recollected another resident. A trainer aircraft had dived into a residential area near Fathenagar, adjoining Bowenpally and the old airport, some time back.
“We thought it to be some bomb blast. The entire area was covered with thick black smoke within minutes,” said Anitha, another eyewitness.
According to the police, one of the pilots tried to disengage from the aircraft but could not do so as his parachute got stuck. The crash team retrieved the mangled aircraft parts and carried these away in an army vehicle.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who addressed a press conference shortly after the incident, said an inquiry would be ordered into the crash.
