Ghatkopar crash: Plane was fit for take-off, says owner

Four days after the King Air crash in Ghatkopar suburbs of Mumbai, UY Aviation, owner of the ill-fated aircraft, said that the plane was fit to take off and Met briefing was followed.

The Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft operating under the call sign VT-UPZ, crashed on June 28 in Ghatkopar suburbs of Mumbai.

Four crew members, including the pilot, Capt Pradeep Rajput, the co-pilot, Capt Marya Zubair, aircraft maintenance engineer Surabhi Gupta, junior technician Manish Pandey and a pedestrian Govind Dubey, a carpenter, were killed in the incident.

The family members of the victims had alleged that the plane was not fit to fly and inclement weather was not taken into account for the test flight of the plane.

In a detailed statement, UY Aviation Pvt Ltd said that the aircraft was purchased by Silver Jubilee Aviation Pvt Ltd, Pune from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and was sent directly to Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd for rebuilding.

Subsequently, on August 18, 2016, UY Aviation purchased the aircraft, which was lying with Indamer Aviation, a reputed DGCA-approved Maintenance and Repair Organisation (MRO), and they were tasked to completely rebuild the aircraft.

“Before undertaking the test flight, it was ensured that all necessary requirements and approvals were in place,” the statement said.

The aircraft got airborne from Juhu Aerodrome at approx 12.20 pm and flew for approximately 40 minutes as per the Air Test profile.

ATC contact lost
Contact with Mumbai ATC was reportedly lost approximately around 1 pm and the wreckage was later found near Ghatkopar.

UY Aviation said it was extending full cooperation to various agencies, including Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

It clarified that the King Air aircraft was not yet operating on the Non-Schedule Operators Permit (NSOP) of UY Aviation as it was still to be released for service.

It may be recalled that the family and friends of Capt Rajput and Capt Zubair had demanded a probe and alleged that the plane was not fit to be flown and the Met briefing was ignored.