DGCA Safety Red Flags Ignored Weeks Before Fatal Kanpur Training Crash

A trainee pilot and a senior flight instructor lost their lives after a twin-engine Tecnam P2006T crashed into the banks of the Ganga in Kanpur on August 27, just weeks after aviation authorities warned training institutes about recurring safety risks with the aircraft model.

The light trainer aircraft, operated by Garg Aviation, went down near Nathapurwa village roughly 20 minutes after taking off from Kanpur Civil Airport. The impact killed instructor Sachin Bhatia and trainee Abhishek Pujari, leaving the fuselage shattered.

Warning Signals Unheeded

According to official communications accessed and reviewed by PTI, it reveals that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued formal directives to Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) on July 10, passing along urgent recommendations from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). That warning followed a probe into a similar May 2022 crash of a Tecnam P2006T at Bhiwani in Haryana.

The regulator instructed institutes to stop parking Tecnam planes on exposed tarmacs during intense summer heat prior to training sorties. The directive also ordered flying schools to update pilot checklists and overhaul emergency training protocols, specifically focusing on critical flight phases for Tecnam machines.

The July alert was not an isolated intervention. The regulator had previously circulated a operational assessment checklist to evaluate the performance of Tecnam fleets, sending a formal reminder to institutes in August 2025 after receiving incomplete feedback.

Instructors Raise Airworthiness Questions

Flight trainers have voiced growing concern over the rapid adoption of Tecnam aircraft across Indian flying academies. While traditionally preferred models like Cessna and Diamond offer proven track records, institutions have increasingly turned to Tecnam variants to cut procurement and operational costs.

A senior flight instructor stated to PTI that Diamond and Cessna aircraft possessed long-standing reliability and proven airworthiness. The instructor added that Tecnam aircraft had gained traction due to their affordability, but warned that operating them carried distinct risks.

Instructors familiar with the wreckage from the Katri area noted that the destruction of the Kanpur aircraft was far more severe than previous incidents, with the fuselage completely disintegrating upon impact. Senior pilots are now urging the regulator to temporarily ground all Tecnam fleets across India until comprehensive airworthiness checks are completed.

AAIB Probe Underway

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has dispatched a three-member DGCA team to coordinate regulatory oversight while the AAIB conducts a formal investigation. Investigators are auditing maintenance logs, total airframe hours, engine limits, and weather parameters to pinpoint the cause of the failure.

Garg Aviation maintained that the twin-engine plane had no prior maintenance deficits before clearance for the morning flight. AAIB officials expect to release preliminary findings after inspecting the wreckage recovered from the site.