Trainee injured as aircraft crashes

A trainee pilot sustained critical injuries after a trainer aircraft crashed at the Birasal airstrip in Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district on Monday.

According to sources, the flight fell from a height of 15 feet in the afternoon. The injured pilot, identified as Kiran Malik of Maharastra, was initially admitted to the Birasal Community Health Centre (CHC). But later he was referred to the Kamakhyanagar hospital. Kiran had enrolled with the Government Aviation Training Institute (GATI) for pilot training.

The airstrip authorities have intimated the incident to GATI’s headquarters in Bhubaneswar.