Training flight crash in Canada kills two Indian pilot students
Manoj Shivkumar and Sreesaran Thirugnanasambandham died when their aircraft crashed on a cross-country training flight in Canada.
Two Indian students have died after a plane crashed during flight training in Canada. The deceased have been identified as Manoj Shivkumar and Sreesaran Thirugnanasambandham. Manoj was from Tamil Nadu, while Sreesaran was from Puducherry. Both had gone abroad with dreams of becoming commercial pilots, and their sudden deaths have caused grief among their families and in India's aviation sector.
The Consulate General of India in Vancouver confirmed the incident in a social media post and expressed deep sorrow. The consulate said that Manoj Shivkumar and Sreesaran Thirugnanasambandham, from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, lost their lives in a severe accident during flight training in Canada, and that its condolences were with the grieving families in this difficult time. The consulate said it was providing all possible assistance to ensure the safe return of the bodies to their families.
According to information received, the two students were flying to complete the flying hours required for a commercial pilot license. They had rented a small aircraft, a Cessna 172, from a flight training school called Harv's Air. Both held pilot licenses and were on a night cross-country flight from Regina in Saskatchewan via Carlyle to Steinbach in Manitoba. When the aircraft failed to reach its destination by 10:30 am, Canada's Transportation Safety Board, or TSB, was immediately informed.
Canadian search and rescue teams then launched a large-scale search operation. A CC-138 Hercules aircraft from 435 Squadron, led by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, located the wreckage near the village of Kisbey in Saskatchewan. Rescue teams parachuted to the site around 6 pm, where both Indian passengers were found dead. The crash was so severe that the aircraft was completely destroyed.
This was the third major accident linked to the Harv's Air flying school in recent months. In January, a trainer was seriously injured after being struck by a propeller while starting an engine, while in July two trainee pilots died when a training flight crashed. The repeated accidents at the same flight training institute have raised serious questions about the safety of Indian students studying in Canada.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, and the Transportation Safety Board have been given a detailed investigation into the accident. Local authorities are trying to determine whether the crash was caused by a technical fault or bad weather. The Indian consulate remains in constant touch with local officials and the families of the deceased students, and is working to complete all legal formalities to bring the bodies back to India as soon as possible.
