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Journalism of Courage
The DGCA’S investigators looking into the Cessna 180 crash in Bangalore, which killed actress Soundarya and three others last Saturday, have obtained leads indicating that the plane was probably overloaded by 40kg.
Given that the flight from Jakkur airport in Bangalore to Nadirgul near Hyderabad takes close to 90 minutes, sources said, the Cessna 180 should not have been flying full capacity with all four seats occupied. They said the seat factor should have been calculated keeping in mind the distance and the fuel the plane was carrying.
The DGCA has grounded the only other aircraft in the fleet of Agni Aero Sports and Adventure Club by suspending the airworthiness certificate of its Islander aircraft. The club had a non-scheduled operator’s permit issued to it in 1999 which expired in 2001. Investigators are also looking at if the dual controls in the co-pilot’s seat were deactivated, as pointed out by the DGCA after the Khanvel crash.
