Mumbai: Five persons were killed when an aircraft on a test flight crashed in a crowded Mumbai suburb on June 28 afternoon, police said.Those killed include two pilots and as many flight engineers on board, besides a pedestrian in the Ghatkopar area where it crashed, police said.The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft, which took off from the Juhu airstrip, crashed in the Jagruti Nagar area of Ghatkopar, police said.A team of officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rushed to the crash site for an investigation, an official said.The police, fire brigade and disaster management teams rushed to the spot. Bodies of those killed were taken to the nearby Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar, an official said.A fire brigade official said, “Our control room got a call at 1:15 pm informing a plane crash. Our jawans were immediately rushed at the site to launch the rescue operation. Four fire engines and as many water tankers were rushed to douse the fire that occurred after the plane crashed.”The police cordoned off the area, an official said.The DGCA has confirmed that four officials were onboard and have died in the crash. Another identity of the bystander who died is yet to be confirmed. All their bodies have been taken to the civic hospital Rajawadi in Ghatkopar. The officials who died are Maria Kuber, the pilot in-charge, Pradip Rajput, her co-pilot, Manish Pandey, the aircraft technician and Surabhi, a mechanical engineer on board. The DGCA team is on its way to conduct ground investigations.DGCA said the plane was a 12-seater turbo-prop King Air C-90 and was on a test flight from the nearby Juhu airstrip.Credit: Ruchira PetkarAccording to the police spokesperson, the crash occurred at 1:10 pm at a construction site, which is mostly a busy area. “The workers have moved out for lunch at the time of the crash. Casualties would have been higher if it were a few minutes earlier.”According to sources, Kuber, who was in charge of the plane, managed to divert the plane to an open ground and crash land there. This, the officials claim, helped in averting a massive accident.Police were initially confused about the aircraft since it bore the logo of the Uttar Pradesh government. However, Principal Secretary (Information) Avnish Awasthi told the news agency ANI: “The chartered plane which has crashed (in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar) does not belong to UP govt. The state govt had sold it to Mumbai’s UY Aviation. The deal was done after the plane had met with an accident in Allahabad.”(With PTI inputs)
