Aircraft crash lands at Jamshedpur airport, trainee pilot escapes unhurt  

Jamshedpur, March 16: A six-seater light aircraft of flying training institution Alchemist Aviation Private Limited met with a mishap. The aircraft Piper Seneca made crash-land at the Jamshedpur Airport in Sonari on Wednesday afternoon.

Officials of the aviation company the aircraft crash-landed as it developed a snag at the time of landing. However, the trainee pilot escaped unhurt.

Piper Seneca is a twin-engined light aircraft, produced in the United States by Piper Aircraft. It has been in non-continuous production since 1971. The Seneca is primarily used for personal and business flying.

“A probe has been ordered but as per our initial investigation, the wheels of the aircraft failed to open out at the time of landing that resulted in the mishap, ” said an official.

The incident was immediately reported to the Director-General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA ) which ordered a probe. Sources said emergency services were activated as soon as the mishap took place.

In 2018 the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave the certificate of approval to Alchemist Aviation Private Limited for conducting flying training courses (private pilot license –PPL and commercial pilot license- CPL).

The certificate of approval was received from May 2018 till May 2023 from DGCA as per the Aircraft Act 1934 for conducting flying training courses. At present there are 23 such training cradles across the country. The institution has a simulator, classroom, library and a hangar. There are three Cessna 152, 1 Cessna 172 and 1 Piper Seneca in possession of the flight training school, which are used for the training.

The institution offers seats for 50 candidates and the eligibility is intermediate in science (physics, chemistry and mathematics) along with medical examination certificate from a DGCA approved physician (chest X Ray, ECG, EEG, ENT and eye vision test) with a minimum age being 17 years.