New Delhi, Aug 9: A Cessna C172 trainer aircraft with two people onboard suffered damage after veering off the runway at the Baramati airfield on Sunday afternoon, but there were no injuries or fatalities, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The air safety team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is going to the site in Maharashtra to conduct a preliminary investigation and ascertain the circumstances and contributing factors leading to the incident, the ministry said in a statement.
On January 28, a chartered plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others had crashed near the Baramati airfield, killing all five people onboard.
At around 12.25 pm, a Cessna C172 aircraft VT-SEX, operated by the flying training school Academy of Carver Aviation, was involved in the runway excursion incident at the Baramati airfield.
“There were no injuries or fatalities reported. The aircraft has sustained prima facie damage to the propeller, engine cowling and nose landing gear. A detailed assessment of the damage will be carried out by the competent authorities,” the ministry said.
The aircraft was being operated for a Circuit and Landing Emergencies (CL Emergencies) training exercise.
The aircraft was under the command of Captain Chirag Shashikant Doifode, who was the flight instructor, with trainee Abhijeet Jundre on board.
According to the ministry’s statement, the aircraft taxied out at around 12.09 pm for the scheduled training exercise.
“During the exercise, the aircraft entered the runway through Link Bravo and lined up at the threshold of runway 29, where a rejected take-off exercise practice was carried out.
“Subsequently, the aircraft lined up at the threshold of runway 11 and another rejected take-off exercise was carried out,” it said.
During the course of the exercise, the ministry said the aircraft was unable to stop within the paved runway surface and subsequently veered off the extended paved surface beyond the threshold of runway 29 towards the right side, resulting in a runway excursion.
Baramati airfield is an uncontrolled airfield.
An uncontrolled airfield is an aerodrome without a control tower, or one where the tower is not in operation, according to the website SKYbrary.
Meanwhile, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary report on the January 28 plane crash, mentioned fading marks on the runway and the presence of loose gravel on the runway surface at Baramati.
In the report issued on February 28, AAIB recommended that the regulator, DGCA, ensure that stakeholders maintain safety standards at uncontrolled airfields.
The last runway re-carpeting was carried out in March 2016, and thereafter no runway re-carpeting was carried out, which resulted in fading of all the runway markings and presence of loose gravel on the runway surface, it had said.
Also, AAIB had said that DGCA may issue specific directions to all the stakeholders responsible for managing and maintaining the uncontrolled airfields to ensure that the required safety standards are maintained at the airport for safe aircraft operations. (PTI)
