Kamal Ghorui
PRAYAGRAJ: A trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force crashed into a pond in Prayagraj on Wednesday. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft, identified as an microlight plane, was in flight when it went down. Both pilots have been rescued. This is the second aviation emergency reported this month. On January 10, a nine-seater aircraft operating under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) made a forced crash landing in an open field near Kansor, around 15–20 km short of the Rourkela airport, after the crew detected a technical snag mid-flight. The IndiaOne Air Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, operating flight IOA-102 from Bhubaneswar to Rourkela, declared a “Mayday” at 1.14 pm and executed a belly landing at around 1.20 pm. All six occupants — four passengers and two crew members — survived the incident, though one of the pilots sustained injuries. The aircraft suffered minor damage to the fuselage, while its wings remained intact. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau would conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
