A Super King B-200 BSF aircraft, on Tuesday, crashed near Dwarka and burst into flames just outside IGI airport shortly after taking-off, killing all 10 people on board. On Wednesday, sources said that the aircraft “lost contact” with the Air Traffic Control after attaining a height of 500m.
It is also not clear at this stage whether there was any loss of engine power and the pilot attempted to rescue the plane.
A civil aviation ministry source said:
There was no communication after it went to a height of 500m, but the plane did take a left turn. Why it took that left turn is a subject matter of inquiry. These are the only three things we are investigating.
According to officials from the Air Traffic Control and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the 1995 vintage aircraft suddenly took a kind of U-turn towards the airport after taking off at 9:37 am and hit a tree while apparently approaching to land following a possible technical problem.
Meanwhile, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the plane has been retrieved from the crash site and sent for further investigation.
The government has already announced setting up of a four-member committee, headed by a senior Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) official to carry out the investigation into the causes of the accident.
Deputy Director AAIB, RS Passi will be the chairman of the committee while Capt Anant Sethi, chief pilot of Madhya Pradesh government, will function as its Operational Member, besides, two other members from the Bureau.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)