Speaking to reporters, Prapti Pednekar, a resident in the area, had said: “there is a lot of smoke and no clarity on how many people are inside. The passerby who died when the aircraft crashed was taken away in an ambulance.” Another eyewitness said he heard two loud crashes and then saw a huge ball of fire. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been pressed into service.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu expressed deep shock over the crash the aircraft in Mumbai. “The minister has directed the concerned officials to rush to the accident spot in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai and provide all possible help and assistance. DGCA has been asked to conduct an investigation into the plane crash,” a Civil Aviation ministry spokesperson said
The incident could have been averted. Maria had told me that the flight won't be flown due to bad weather. The aviation company is responsible for this unfortunate incident: P Kuthariya, Husband of the pilot killed in the chartered plane crash.
According to sources in the Mumbai Police, UY Aviation Pvt Ltd King Air C-90 plane VT-UPZ that crashed at Ghatkopar was undergoing repairs and maintenance work for the past one year. It was recently certified fit to fly, today morning it took its first test flight post the repairs.
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A chartered aircraft with four persons onboard crashed at a construction site in Ghatkopar, Mumbai near Sarvodaya Hospital. All four have been killed in the crash and their bodies have been taken to Rajawadi Hospital.
Two other people, who suffered injuries, have been rushed to the hospital. Read more here
According to officials from UY Aviations, both the pilot and co-pilot had years of experienced clocking more than 1000 hours of flying. The officials said that they were in contact with the families all the four deceased which included two pilots and two AMEs. In pics, Surabhi Gupta and Manish Pandey, the two Engineers onboard. (Source: Juhu Airport)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reached the crash site in Ghatkopar where the chartered plane crashed around 1.45 pm earlier today, killing five people.
According to laborers working in the under construction building where the chartered plane crashed in Ghatkopar, the plane collided with a tree while coming down and an imminent blast worsened the situation.
"The pilot and the co-pilot were our employees and both have great flying experience. The pilot has flown over 5000 hours while the co-pilot used to fly with Jet Airways before. The engineers were from Indamer Aviation Limited. We are in touch with the family and also with DGCA and the local police. Our team is on the site. The flight has been in operation for the last 22 years and recently procured by us. It was with Indamer for maintenance and we took it on a test flight today as we were to start operations soon. The flight was in the air for an hour and was just about to land at Juhu when the accident occured," said Anil Chauhan, head of operations, UY Aviation.
A fire brigade official said, "Our control room got call at 1.15 pm informing a plane crash. Our jawans were immediately rushed to the site to launch the rescue operation Four fire engines and as many water tankers were rushed t douse the fire that occurred after the plane crashed."
The investigators recovered the black box of the aircraft, however, details on the conditions of the black box is awaited. Meanwhile, DCP Shivaji Umap said, ' All bodies are charred and beyond recognition.'
Two people reportedly injured due to the impact of the blast after the plane crashed include Luvkush kumar, 21, who suffered Minor foot injury and Nareshkumar Nishad, 24, who suffered burns on Face.
Luvkush Kumar gaud who was injured in the blast impact after the crash is now stable. (Express Photo)
A senior police official said,' As this was an under construction site, we are still trying to find trapped victims. Also the search for the black box is on.' Meanwhile, cops from Juhu Police station are at the UY Aviation office for questioning. the four people on board the crashed aircraft in Ghatkopar were Capt P S Rajput, Co-pilot Maria Zuberi, AME Surbhi and aircraft technician Manish Pandey.
The chartered aircraft that crashed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar on Thursday afternoon is a Beechcraft King Air C90 model. The twin-turboprop aircraft was previously registered to the Uttar Pradesh government but was sold in 2014 to a Mumbai-based company, UY aviation. The plane was carrying two pilots and two technicians, and took off from Juhu airport for a test flight, a DGCA official said.
READ | Mumbai plane crash: Here is everything you need to know about Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu also asked officials to rush to the spot to assist in the relief operations, an official in the ministry said. He said the minister also asked the investigation authorities to ascertain the cause of the crash. The small aircraft crashed in Sarvodya Nagar of Ghatkopar area in Mumbai at around 1.30 pm. Police, fire brigade and disaster management teams rushed to the spot, Akhilesh Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-7) told PTI. Four fire engines have reached the spot, a BMC official said.
A DGCA team is on its way for a preliminary investigation. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will do a detailed investigation.
The crash took place near Sarvodaya Hospital. There were four people in the aircraft — two pilots and two aircraft maintenance engineers. All four have been killed in the crash and their bodies have been taken to Rajawadi Hospital.