Training plane crashes in Pune, woman pilot hurt

A light training aircraft crashed in an open field in Pune's Indapur taluka, injuring a 22-year-old woman trainee pilot, officials said in Pune on Monday.

The victim, identified as trainee-pilot Bhavika Rathod, sustained minor injuries in the incident. She was administered first-aid and then taken to a private hospital in Shegaon for treatment.

According to aviation circles, the aircraft is a Cessna 152 VT-ALI in which pilot Rathod was on a solo flight sortie.

The plane - owned by Carter Aviation, a flying school in Baramati - crashed owing to a suspected engine failure, according to the sources.

In a statement later, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the ill-fated aircraft which was on a solo cross-country flight, made a crash landing, around 15 nautical miles from Baramati Airfield, "due to suspected power loss".

The Pune local police, Carter Aviation officials and others are at the crash site, and further details are awaited.