An Indian Air Force pilot was killed after a National Cadet Corps training aircraft crashed in Patiala on Monday, The Indian Express reported. Another trainee cadet was also injured in the accident.
The two-seater micro-light airplane of Number 3 NCC Air Unit, which is used for training, crashed in the military area near Patiala Aviation Club on the Sangrur-Patiala road.
“The plane took off from the civil aerodrome strip of the club and crashed in the military area nearby after a few minutes,” Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu told the newspaper. “Wing Commander Gurpreet Singh Cheema died and another cadet was injured.”
The left wing of the aircraft hit an eucalyptus tree flanking the Patiala-Sangrur Highway before it fell on the ground inside the army fence, The Times of India reported.
Sidhu said the wing commander who died in the crash was on deputation with the National Cadet Corps for training. “The injured cadet, identified as Vipan Kumar Yadav, is a student of Government Mohindra College Patiala,” he added. “He has been shifted to Command Hospital, Chandimandir. He has received serious spinal cord injuries.”
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