Two pilots killed after repaired plane crashes

Ludhiana: Two experienced pilots were killed on Wednesday when a six-seater aircraft of the Punjab government crashed while landing at the Sahnewal airport near here. A probe has been ordered, officials said.

The King Air C-90 aircraft took off from Chandigarh, 110 km away, on a trial flight after repairs. It crashed within minutes at Jugiana village near the airport, 20 km from here, a police official said.

Those killed were identified as pilot Dalip Kataria and co-pilot Manjit Singh, a Punjab government spokesman said. A probe has been ordered by the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA).

Harcharan Bains, media adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, said that the DGCA has constituted a two-member team to investigate the accident.

The police and district officials here had a tough time extricating the bodies of the pilots.

The small plane crashed on the premises of Thapar Agro factory. The Punjab government civil aviation officials said that the aircraft was not being used for some time and was cleared for flying by the DGCA only last week after major repairs.

"It was on a trial flight from Chandigarh to Sahnewal after repairs," said Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Sumer Singh.

Airport sources at Chandigarh said that the aircraft was not fit for flying but the pilots were told to do a trial flight to check its flying capabilities.