Sagar/Seoni, Dec 10 In a dramatic sequence of events underscoring aviation safety concerns in Madhya Pradesh's aviation training hubs, a trainee aircraft skidded off the runway on the Dhana airstrip of Sagar district on Wednesday.
According to information, the trainee aircraft skidded off the runway just as emergency teams prepared to airlift an injured soldier from the same runway. “The solo pilot miraculously escaped without injuries,” additional superintendent of police Lokendra Singh told IANS.
The incident has reignited debates over recurring mishaps at the site, known for its history of trainer plane accidents. Dhana airstrip is the key facility for pilot training in the Bundelkhand region.
Eyewitnesses described a sudden loss of control during take-off, with the plane veering off the runway and nosediving into an adjacent patch of scrubland, kicking up a chaotic plume of dust and debris. "The plane just dipped and hit the ground hard, but the pilot climbed out shaking but safe. The solo pilot, yet to be identified, escaped to safety with minor injuries," police said.
A video of the incident also went viral on social media. This is the second incident in three days. Another trainee aircraft hit a high-tension line wire in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday. However pilot and the trainee escaped safely. At 6:25 p.m., the aircraft – en route back from a routine sortie – clipped a 33kV power line at Badalpar substation in Seoni district while approaching fields in Amgaon village, 2 km from the Seoni-Nagpur highway runway.
This marks at least the third major incident at Dhana since 2020. In January that year, a trainer plane crashed in a foggy agricultural field during landing, killing the flight instructor and trainee. The impact severed the line in a burst of sparks and explosions, sending the plane spiralling into the earth.
Instructor pilot Ajit Anthony and trainee Ashok Chawda sustained fractures and lacerations but were stabilised at Seoni District Hospital; both are out of danger.
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