Woman trainee pilot killed in aircraft crash in Telangana\'s Nalgonda

HYDERABAD: A 29-year-old woman trainee pilot was killed after an aircraft belonging to a private aviation institute which she was flying crashed into agriculture fields near Tungaturthy village of Pedavura mandal in Nalgonda district. Technical glitches caused the mishap of the aircraft, according to preliminary investigations.

The pilot was identified as Maheema Gajraj, 29, resident of Thirumalai Street, Ayanavaram, Chennai. She and her husband Vyapuri Paranthaman, who is into online trading, live at Alwal in Secunderabad.

Maheema was the only occupant of the aircraft, a Cessna 152, which she had previously flown. The site of the crash is 130 km from the city.

The aircraft belongs to Flytech Aviation and had taken off at an airfield located near Nagarjunasagar.

Around 10.30 am, farmers working at the agriculture fields noticed an aircraft falling from the sky. Thick smoke emanated from the place where it hit the ground. The farmers went to the place of mishap and found wreckage of the aircraft in which the pilot was found dead. They immediately informed the police.

"We received information from the locals and visited the place immediately. A woman trainee pilot Maheema Gajraj was found dead and her body was stuck under wreckage," said Nalgonda superintendent of police (SP) Rema Rajeswari.

The SP stated that Maheema took off from the airfield near Nagarjunasagar, on the border of Nalgonda district, as part of her regular training. Minutes later, it crashed in Nalgonda district.

"We have taken measures by conducting a post mortem on the body of Maheema at the place of mishap and handed over the body to her husband. The police registered a case under section 304 (A) of IPC, for negligent driving causing death and investigation is on. We will do a proper probe along with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCI) in connection with the mishap," Rema Rajeswari said.

Maheema, who joined Flytech Aviation four months ago, married Paranthaman in December 2017. The couple has no children. She was undergoing regular training at Flytech Aviation Academy situated in Vijayapuri South, Macharla mandal, Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh.

An eyewitness Ramaiah, who was working at the agriculture fields, said he was chatting with other villagers at the place. Suddenly, the aircraft spanned down and hit the surface. Minutes after the mishap, the aircraft exploded and thick smoke emanated. Some of the locals went to the place of the mishap and found a woman inside the aircraft which was smashed in the mishap.