2 Killed in Mid-Air Collision in Canada, Including Indian Student (2 Killed in Mid-Air Collision in Canada, Including Indian Student (Image for representation/ Unsplash))
A tragic mid-air collision happened in Canada on early Tuesday morning and claimed the life of a 23-year-old Indian student pilot. The incident happened near Steinbach in Manitoba province when two small training aircraft collided during a flight exercise. He was among two student pilots who were killed in the plane crash.
The Indian student, Sreehari Sukesh, was from Thrippunithura, near Kochi in Kerala. He was practising near Harv's Air, a pilot training school in Manitoba. The Indian Consulate in Toronto confirmed his death and expressed deep sorrow over the loss.
In a post on social media, the Indian consulate said that 'We are here in touch with Sreehari's family, the flight school, and local bodies to provide all the necessary assistance.
The accident took place during routine flight practice on Tuesday morning.
Adam Penner, head of the flight school, said that both pilots were flying Cessna planes and were practising take-offs and landings. He said it seemed like both planes tried to land at the same time and accidentally collided just a few hundred metres from the airstrip.
Though the aircraft were equipped with radios, it appears the pilots didn’t notice each other in time. Both student pilots died on the spot, according to the police.
The second person killed was 20-year-old Savanna May Royes, a Canadian and Sreehari’s classmate. Students dead bodies were found near the wreckage of the aircraft, which is about 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba.
Now the Canadian government agency, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, is now probing into the crash. Harv’s Air, the school involved, has been training pilots since the early 1970s and currently teaches around 400 students each year from across the globe.
Nathaniel Plett, who lives near the flight school, described hearing a loud explosion. 'That's a plane crash, I told my wife,' he said. He added that black smoke was seen rising, followed by a second, louder blast. This tragic incident has left two families and a school community in deep grief.
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