Kanpur: A four-seater twin-engine training aircraft crashed into an open agricultural field near Natthapurwa village, close to the Ganga Barrage in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday morning, killing both pilots on board.
The incident occurred at approximately 11:50 a.m. shortly after the aircraft took off from a local aviation training facility. According to local authorities, the impact of the crash triggered widespread panic in the surrounding rural area, prompting a large crowd of villagers to rush to the site as plumes of smoke and debris scattered across the field.
Emergency response teams, including local police and rescue personnel, were dispatched to the crash site to secure the area, manage the crowd, and initiate rescue operations. Officials confirmed that the instructor pilot, identified as Sachin Bhatia from Gujarat, and the trainee pilot, identified as Abhishek from Karnataka, suffered fatal injuries in the accident.
Aviation safety officials and law enforcement agencies have initiated an inquiry to determine the exact technical cause behind the crash.