Four seater aircraft crashlands in Mumbai; crew safe

Mumbai, Oct 13 (UNI) A four-seater Beechcraft plane, belonging to Container Movement Transport Pvt Ltd, crashlanded today at the Juhu airport in North West Mumbai after a technical snag.

The aircraft with two persons on board was bound for Vadodara, when it crashlanded at the airport within minutes of its take off this morning.

The aircraft, which had taken off from the Kalina Hanger in Santacruz, was badly damaged as it caught a minor fire. The pilot and co-pilot, however, escaped with minor injuries.

''The aircraft developed a technical snag soon after take-off.

There were two passengers on board and both are safe. We are investigating the matter,'' P K Shah, Director of Air Safety in the Civil Aviation Ministry, said here.

The aircraft was hired by Container Movement Transport Ltd from Uttar Pradesh Government, Santacruz police said.

''We are investigating the matter. Details of the incident will be available once the investigation is over,'' Mr Shah said.

The aircraft has been removed from the tarmac to operationalise the airport, airport officials said.

Teams of officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have visited the airport to make a detailed inquiry, they said.

The Beechcraft B-55 is a light-medium twin-engine aircraft made by the Beech Aircraft Corporation. It can carry five passengers, including a pilot. It can cruise at a speed of 373 kmph with a range of 1,836 km and a service ceiling of 6,305 km.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials intervened timely to rescue the trapped crew, who recieved minor bruises, thereby averting a major tragedy, police added.

UNI MR-GVS SSS VD HS1911