Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Diamond DA40CS Diamond Star, VT-FGE, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy (IGRUA): Accident occurred December 24, 2013 in Chhindwara, near Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh, India

 
Sohail Zahiruddin Ansari; (inset) debris of the Diamond DA40CS Diamond Star aircraft in the jungles of Sitadongri, Madhya Pradesh



Sohail Zahiruddin Ansari

While the investigation into trainee pilot Sohail Ansari's tragic death in an air crash at Chhindwara is likely to take at least three months as informed to his father by Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA) officials, a quick look at the accidents involving the academy indicate that it has a history of human errors causing crashes of aircraft flown by trainee pilots. The last mishap involving a Trinidad TB 20 aircraft of IGRUA took place on December 29, 2008.

According to Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the student pilot flew in an unauthorized region at a very low altitude and touched water. In the course of recovery, he took a sharp left turn to avoid a tree ahead and crash landed, damaging the aircraft substantially. However, the student pilot survived the crash with minor injuries. Not adhering to the Standard Operating Procedure was the cause of accident. Using autopilot without functional knowledge and flying low so as to touch water contributed to the accident."

Another accident took place on June 11, 1999 when a IGRUA-operated Trinidad TB -20 aircraft was engaged in training flight from Fursatganj to Patna via Varanasi. The aircraft was under the command of Captain S R Singh along with trainee pilot Mohd Tariq. Two passengers were also on board the aircraft. The flight was to be operated under Visual Flying Rules.

DGCA records reveal that en-route to Patna from Varanasi, the aircraft encountered CB cells. The pilot lost control and aircraft and went into a spiral dive and crashed.


 Sohel’s brother Shoaib. 
  
 
 
Relatives and neighbors gathered outside the Ansari residence upon hearing the news of Sohel’s death




 
Sohel Ansari’s (left) brother Sohaib outside their Tadiwala Road residence.



The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an investigation into the Tuesday crash that led to the death of 19-year-old city-youngster Sohail Ansari.  
 
Officials of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA) to which Sohail belonged however said that he was a trained and tested pilot with 90 hours of flying experience. This was also not the first time he was flying solo, said Air Commodore T K Chatterjee, Chief Flying Instructor, IGRUA.

Sohail was on a navigation sortie on Tuesday when he went missing and his body was traced by the police in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday. His body is being taken to his native place in Uttar Pradesh for burial, relatives said.

Chatterjee said that Sohail took off from Gondia at 12.40 pm and was expected to return by 2.45 pm. "When there was no radio contact till 2.45 pm, overdue action was initiated. The transponder of his aircraft was in touch with Nagpur radar and the last contact with the radar was at 1.15 pm, after which he went untraceable," Chatterjee said adding, "He was trained and tested pilot. He was halfway through his training and this was not the first time he was flying solo."

While the reason that led to mishap is being probed, a quick look at the data available with IGRUA and the DGCA shows that this is arguably the first IGRUA operated DA- 40 aircraft crash, ever since the academy received the aircraft in 2008. According to data available on the website of Diamond Aircraft, the manufacturer, IGRUA is reported to have ordered 14 such aircraft after April 2008. IGRUA website too calls it "the newest addition to the fleet used for ab-initio flying training".

According to a popular global accident records website, the DA- 40 platform has had 51 accidents across the globe since 2003, in 18 of which, the aircraft was completely written off. Chatterjee however said that the fleet is "not grounded" and that it is too early to comment on the specific cause of the accident.


http://www.indianexpress.com



While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated an inquiry into the aircraft crash in which a trainee commercial pilot Sohel Zahiruddin Ansari was killed, the chief flying instructor of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) said that within half an hour of the take off, he lost contact with the radar and his aircraft. It was later found crashed nearly 90 kilometres away from the runway.

A resident of the Tadiwala Road area in Pune, Sohel was undergoing the training of commercial pilot in IGRUA at Raibareli.

As part of the training, Sohel had taken a solo sortie from Gondia’s Birsi airport on Tuesday afternoon. The aircraft was found on Wednesday in a damaged state. Sohel’s parents had gone to Gondia where Sohel’s body was handed over to them.

Yasin shaikh, local Congress worker and his neighbor said, “Sohel’s parents wanted to cremate his body in Pune, but his body was so damaged that they decided to cremate his body at their native place in Uttar Pradesh which was closer from there.

“DGCA has initiated an inquiry in the crash incident. Air Commodore (retd) TK Chatterjee, chief flying instructor of IGRUA said, “As a standard procedure after any crash, the DGCA has initiated an inquiry.
 

Sohel had completed 90 hours of flying out of the total 200 hours of flying required during the course which means that he had sufficient experience of flying. His aircraft took off at 12.40 pm on Tuesday and he was supposed to land at 2.45 pm, Chatterjee added.

Source:   http://www.dnaindia.com

Directorate general of civil aviation begins probe into crash 

 NAGPUR: The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has begun investigation into the crash of an Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA) training aircraft in Chhindwara.

Nineteen-year-old trainee pilot Sohail Ansari lost his life when his Diamond 40 aircraft crashed in the Thakkurdev hills near Pachmarhi on Tuesday. Ansari had set out for a cross country solo sortie to Pachmarhi from Gondia, where IGRUA conducts some of its training during winters.

Ansari's aircraft went missing at about 1:27pm when it was reportedly last spotted by Nagpur air traffic control ( ATC). On Thursday a team of two from DGCA went to the crash site as a part of the investigation.

Two officials from IGRUA accompanied the DGCA team in order to take possession of the wreckage after the inspection was over. It is learnt that Ansari's body was identified by his parents and relatives. His body has been taken back to Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh for the last rites.



Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 
Life was cut short for 19-year-old Sohel Zahiruddin Ansari minutes after the two-seater Diamond DA40 aircraft he was flying crashed on Tuesday afternoon. A trainee pilot at the Uttar Pradesh-based Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA), Sohel took off for his solo sortie from Birsi airfield in Gondia (near Nagpur). 

His body was recovered from Delakhedi Village in Chindwada district in Madhya Pradesh yesterday. Father, mother, brother and two younger sisters survive Sohel.

Trainee pilots from IGRUA are sent to Gondia base for training due to bad weather and poor visibility in Rae Bareli during winter. Sohel took off from Gondia at 12.30 pm for Panchmarhi and was expected to return by 3 pm.

The family

The Ansaris live in a small house in slums on Tadiwala Road, where Sohels’ father Zahiruddin runs a tiny bakery by paying a monthly rent of Rs 2,500. Making Sohel a commercial pilot was an unaffordable dream for this lower middle-class family, but Zahiruddin and his relatives did every possible thing to raise Rs 38 lakh for the 18-month course. Sohel had joined IGRUA in December 2012 and was supposed to complete the course in the next five months.

A father waits

“The officials here are telling me not to lose hope. Search operation is on. They are saying that they will find Sohel soon using the inputs they received from the black box of the aircraft,” said Zahiruddin, who was in Gondia hoping to get news about his son’s well-being.

 While Zahiruddin still believes that his son would be returning home soon, Sohel’s brother Shoaib came to know about his death through news channels. “He was sincere, hard working and very good in studies. My father is telling me that soon he will meet Sohel, but I already know...” Shoaib said.

Commenting on Sohel’s flying skills Zahiruddin said this was not the first time that Sohel had flown solo. “He’s got good flying skills. That’s why he was a few of those who were selected for the course from across the country.”

Zahiruddin and his wife had visited their hometown in Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh last month to make provision for Rs 8 lakh, the remaining fee for the course.

Young achiever


A good student, Sohel had passed HSC with distinction from Wadia College and had planned to become an engineer for which he attempted and cleared CET in May 2012. But it was one of his friends, Sumit, who induced the idea of becoming a pilot into Sohel. Though both appeared for IGRUA entrance test, it was Sohel who cracked it and was one of the few to be selected for the course from among 4,500 candidates.

 “I clearly remember the day when Sohel had his maiden flight because his father distributed cake from his bakery to all of us saying that once Sohel completes the course, he will give opportunity to each one of us to sit in an aircraft next to him,” local political activist Yasin Sheikh, who knows the Ansaris well, said.

Commenting on the sense of pride the Anasris and the locals felt, Sohel’s friend Elahi Jamadar said it was a big achievement for a boy hailing from Tadiwala Road slums of attempting to become a pilot. “Zahiruddin’s brother-in-law had taken a promise from Sohel that he would marry his daughter after becoming a pilot.”

Police speak

“The pilot was expected to return to Gondia base by 2.30 pm on Tuesday. But after confirming that the plane was missing in Chindwada area, we immediately informed the MP police. They initiated a search operation in jungles of Balaghat and Chindwada. Finally, Ansari’s body was recovered from Childongri jungle on Wednesday afternoon,” siad Vijay Halmare, Asst Sub Inspector of Gondia 

Source:  http://www.mid-day.com



PUNE: A pall of gloom descended on the slum pocket located opposite Tadiwala police chowky here as news of the tragic death of the young trainee pilot Sohail Ansari in an air crash trickled in. Ansari, who lived in this slum pocket with his family and was scheduled to visit them before the year ended, was flying the single engine Diamond 40 aircraft when it crashed near Pachmarhi in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

Locals here recollected how Ansari, a diligent student, had often shared with them his dream to fly one day. "Sohail was a promising youngster who wanted to achieve something big in his life. He would always share his dream that on becoming a pilot, he would give all his neighbors a ride in an airplane to show them an aerial view of Tadiwala road," said Surekha Kamble, his neighbor.

"He would interact very little with people around his house but was very good in his studies," recalled Kamble, pointing out that Sohail often studied at her residence along with her children till late night. "His death has come as a shock to all of us," she said.

Sohail had joined the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy in Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, last December after completing his Class XII in science from Nowrosjee Wadia college. His father, Zahiruddin, runs a bakery on Tadiwalla road and the family resides in a small house in the slum pocket. Sohail's brothers, Mohsin and Sohaib, completed Class X from Dastur Boys school.

His brother Sohaib told TOI, "Our parents were in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh when we got a call from the academy around 6 pm on Tuesday informing us that Sohail's aircraft had gone missing. The academy has not given us an update about the incident. My parents and our relatives from Pune have rushed there. We came to know about his death from media reports."

Sohail's friend, Rohan Kamble, a first year mechanical engineering student, said, "Sohail had called two days ago and informed me that he will be visiting Pune on a five-day leave to meet his parents and friends on Christmas."

Local corporator Pradeep Gaikwad said, "Zahiruddin had taken loans to educate his four children. We are constantly communicating with the academy as well as senior NCP leader Praful Patel, who was influential in bringing the academy to Gondia for the winter training activities, and also through MLC Jaideo Gaikwad for providing all support to the family members of the victims."

Sohail was a promising youngster who wanted to achieve something big in his life. He would always share his dream that on becoming a pilot, he would give all his neighbors a ride in an aeroplane to show them an aerial view of Tadiwala road.


Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A  city-based trainee pilot was killed when his aircraft crashed in the hills of Chhindwara near the Maharashtra- Madhya Pradesh border, officials said on Wednesday. 
  
Sohail Zahiruddin Ansari, 19, had taken off along with a pilot in a Diamond DA40 aircraft on a three-hour training flight from Birsi Airport in Gondia on Tuesday afternoon.

“The flight was scheduled to return by 3.30 pm. But an hour into the air, it lost all ground contact and was reported missing,” an official from Gondia police control said.

On Wednesday morning, some villagers from the Pandhan village near Sitadongri in MP, reported sighting the debris of the aircraft in the nearby hills and alerted police and district officials. The causes of the disaster are not known. Sohail was reportedly a student of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy, Uttar Pradesh.

His father runs a small bakery inside the Imam Masjid on Tadiwala Road — the family’s financial condition is not too good, but they decided to support his ambition to become a pilot. As they could not afford the fees, it was paid with the help of loans from relatives.

Sohail’s brother Shoeb Ansari said, “Since our childhood, Sohail was a very bright boy. After Class XII, he accompanied a friend fascinated by flying and filled out a form to be a pilot. In a twist of fate, he got selected instead of his friend and was just five months short of his 13-month training.”

Their father was in their hometown of Bijnor in UP, when he got the call about the crash. “He was there to arrange for the remaining Rs 5 lakh in fees,” said a stricken Shoeb. The body will be brought to the city on Thursday.


Source:  http://www.punemirror.in


Five months from now, Sohail Zahiruddin Ansari, 19, would have become a commercial pilot. Six months ago when he flew his first solo at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy (IGRUA) in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, his father Zahiruddin Ansari, 44, had distributed cake in the basti off Tadiwala Road. It was a proud moment for a father, a small time bakery owner, who had borrowed money from his friends and relatives to pay Sohail's course fee of Rs 40 lakh. He even took a loan from a bank for which his friend has mortgaged his house. 

On Wednesday evening, when Sohail's death in an air crash was reported, his father, a heart patient, was in Gondia on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border pinning his hope on the IAF's search operation in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. Sohail, who was on a solo training flight in his Diamond DA40CS Diamond Star aircraft, had gone from there on Tuesday afternoon. "He is still missing. The IAF captain told me not to trust anyone and wait till the aircraft is found," Ansari said over phone.

Chhindwara district police chief Purshottam Sharma said local villagers informed the police about the plane crash, after which a search was launched. While it was not immediately known as to what caused the crash, the Chhindwara police said the pilot, Sohail Ansari (19), lost his way due to the fog. The body of the pilot was found Wednesday near Belakhadi in the Pachmarhi hills.

After finishing Class 12 from Wadia College in 2012, when Sohail first told his father that he wanted to become a commercial pilot like his friend Sumit, Ansari told him that the family had no money to pay the fees. The only source of income for his family of six, including two sisters and two brothers was a small bakery. Even if the family mortgaged their 10 X 12 sq ft room, the money would not have been enough for the fee.

"He had cleared CET and could have become an engineer, but he told me that he wanted to become a pilot. For me, it was my son's dream. I asked many of my relatives if they could lend me some money, but all had their own children to feed and educate. Meanwhile, Sohail got a scholarship of Rs 10 lakh and my relative gave me Rs 15 lakh. I generated remaining Rs five lakh from other friends," Zahiruddin said. But Sohail's dream was still far from reality. By the time the admission to IGRUA took place, the scholarship lapsed and the institute hiked its fees to Rs 36.5 lakh. It was here that his friend, a dairy owner from the mohalla, stood by the family and mortgaged his home  to raise a loan.

Sohail joined IGRUA on December 6, 2012, and would call his father almost every day. In fact Zahiruddin and his wife were at their ancestral village in UP where they had gone to collect the remaining Rs 8 lakh to pay Sohaill's fee, when on Tuesday, they were told that their son, who took off from Gondia had gone missing. "He was supposed to return by 3 pm. But did not return and has been missing since then," Zahiruddin said.

Zahiruddin has not been informed about his son's death. As he waited for Sohail's return at Gondia airport, he said, "Why should I think of paying the loan? My son will pay after he becomes a pilot in five months." However, at their home in Tadiwala Road, a scaffolding has been erected even as the people in the mohalla discussed where to bury Sohail's remains.