Kanpur, August 27, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Two pilots were killed after a four-seater, twin-engine training aircraft crashed in a field near the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Thursday, police said. The aircraft was operated by Garg Aviation Training Centre.
The aircraft took off from the training centre at around 11.30 a.m. and crashed approximately 20 minutes later near Natthapurwa village in the Gwaltoli police station area, close to the Ganga Barrage.
Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal confirmed the deaths of the two occupants. The deceased were identified as instructor pilot Sachin Bhatia of Gujarat and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari of Karnataka. Police said Bhatia had more than 3,000 flying hours.
Emergency services and police teams reached the site after the crash, cordoned off the area and began examining the circumstances surrounding the accident. The cause of the crash has not yet been established.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed and is expected to investigate the accident. The regulatory probe will seek to establish the sequence of events and the factors that led to the aircraft going down.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He prayed for peace for the departed souls and strength for the families to cope with the loss.
The crash comes months after another incident involving a Garg Aviation training aircraft at Kanpur’s Chakeri Airport. In June, a woman trainee pilot was seriously injured after being struck by the spinning propeller of a Tecnam P2006T after landing. The DGCA had ordered the aircraft grounded and removed the instructor from flying-training duties pending investigation.
Further details are awaited as authorities continue their investigation into Thursday’s fatal crash.
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