The aircraft was heading towards the airport in Juhu. (Photo: ANI) Five people were killed and two injured as a chartered plane crashed in an open area in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area on Thursday afternoon. The dead include two pilots, two aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) on board and one person on ground, director general of civil aviation (DGCA) said. The four people on board who died in the crash have been identified as Captain PS Rajput, co-pilot Maria Zuberi, assistant maintenance engineer Surbhi and air technician Manish Panday. The identity of the pedestrian who was killed in the crash has not been ascertained. The two injured are identified as Lavkush Kumar and Naresh Kumar Nishad. The 12-seater King Air C 90 aircraft (VT- UPZ) went off the radar and lost contact with the ATC just 15 seconds before the crash. It had informed the ATC that the flight had developed huge technical fault and it had to be grounded immediately. The ATC was informed and it was against the normal flight path. Such aircrafts and joyride helicopters operate from Juhu airport. The 12-seater aircraft was to land at Juhu airport. The plane also lost its original landing path and got diverted by over 20 to 30 degrees. The plane was on the flight path meant for commercial and bigger aircrafts that fly to and from Mumbai airport but the planes flying from Juhu airport that are smaller aircrafts are meant to fly above the film city and nearby areas. It seems that after losing control of the aircraft, the pilot tried crash landing it at the Mumbai airport which was just a mile away but they couldn't make it and crashed at Ghatkopar. The pilot saved many lives by sacrificing his own life and because of his brave decision, the plane crashed at the under construction site. If the plane had crashed in any other nearby area, the casualties would have been in hundreds while the loss could have been in crores. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct a detailed probe into the crash. Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed deep shock over the crash. He has directed concerned officials to rush to the accident spot in Mumbai and provide all possible assistance. The dead include two pilots, two two aircraft maintenance engineers on board and one person on ground. The aircraft belongs to UY Aviation, a Mumbai-based company. It was earlier owned by the Uttar Pradesh government and was sold off after it met an accident in Allahabad in the past. Meanwhile, teams of fire brigade, along with police and ambulances, have been rushed to the spot and rescue operations have been initiated. The aircraft was flying towards Juhu airport when it crashed near Ghatkopar. #WATCH: A chartered plane crashes near Jagruti building in Ghatkopar where a construction work was going on. #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/ACyGYymydX ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2018 The Uttar Pradesh government in a statement has clarified that the chartered plane which has crashed was sold to Mumbai's UY Aviation. "The deal was done after the plane had met with an accident in Allahabad," UP's Principal Secretary (Information) Avnish Awasthi said. The chartered plane which has crashed (in Mumbai's Ghatkopar) does not belong to UP govt. The state govt had sold it to Mumbai's UY Aviation. The deal was done after the plane had met with an accident in Allahabad: Principal Secretary Information Avnish Awasthi #UttarPradesh ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2018 The plane crashed at Old Malik Estate near the telephone exchange on Jeev Saya Lane in Ghatkopar. It had a capacity of carrying 12 passengers. It is learnt that a total of four people were on board the ill-fated aircraft, all of whom died in the accident.<doc-sep>MUMBAI: The family of copilot Marya Zuberi, who was killed in Thursday’s plane crash in Ghatkopar, said they will initiate legal proceedings against U Y Aviation, which owned the aircraft, for forcing Marya and her colleagues to fly in bad weather. “A thorough investigation should be done to find the cause of the crash. The report shouldn’t end up gathering dust 10 years later. On a personal front we are exploring legal options”, said Marya’s uncle Gauhar Raza, a senior scientist.“She left the house assuring us she would return soon as the weather conditions were clearly not right for a test flight of a small plane,” said Marya’s husband Prabhat Kathuria on Friday. He added pilot Pardeep Rajput had similar views. “Both Rajput and Marya had discussed it and were convinced they would not fly. Then who forced them to fly?” asked Kathuria.S P Gupta, father of maintenance engineer Surabhi Gupta, who also died in the crash, had similar questions. “On Thursday morning, she told me on the phone the aircraft she would be flying in later in the day was sick. She said it was in a bad condition,” PTI quoted Gupta as saying in Sonepat.The family of Captain Rajput too asked for a thorough probe. “It’s not an individual who decides when to fly. It’s always the team that makes that call. The agencies need to probe if all safety protocols that are supposed to be in place before a plane goes on test flight were followed,” said Rajput’s cousin T S Pandori.Kathuria blamed U Y Aviation for forcing the pilots to test the aircraft ignoring weather conditions. He said around an hour after the crash, a call was made to Marya and her cellphone had rung. But the company has no clue about her mobile phone or her belongings.“The company is not even showing us the logbook that will have details of her belongings left behind before flying,” said Kathuria. “Somebody has to be held responsible for the crash and the deaths. I will not rest till Marya gets justice,” he added.Kathuria said Marya was very clear about not flying in bad weather. Marya’s father Dr Iqbal echoed him, and alleged there must have been a lot of pressure on her to fly.<doc-sep>Praful Patel praised the pilot, saying she had avoided a bigger tragedy at the cost of her own life. Highlights The plane took off from Juhu airstrip for a test flight Praful Patel said pilot avoided bigger tragedy at cost of her own life The 12-seater plane was reportedly 20 years old Moments before a small Beechcraft C 90 crashed at a Mumbai suburb this afternoon, the pilot swerved to avoid hitting any residential building, saving many lives, tweeted former aviation minister Praful Patel. The plane took off from the Juhu Aerodrome for a test flight, with two pilots and two maintenance engineers. It crashed a little after 1 pm, killing all four on board and a man on the ground. The crash site was near to buildings under construction, so there were very few people there at the time. Facing engine trouble, the pilot wanted an emergency landing on the main runway of the Mumbai airport instead of heading to Juhu Aerodrome but crashed just a short distance from the airport. Praful Patel praised the pilot, saying she had avoided a bigger tragedy at the cost of her own life. Saddened to hear about the unfortunate incident at #ghatkopar as Charter plane crashes in an open area. Salute to the pilot who showed presence of mind to avoid a big mishap, saving many lives at the cost of her own life. #RIP to all the 5 Dead. My deepest condolences. - Praful Patel (@praful_patel) June 28, 2018 The 12-seater plane was reportedly 20 years old. A fire brigade official said, "Our control room received a call at 1.15 pm informing a plane crash. Our jawans were immediately rushed at the site to launch the rescue operation. Four fire engines and as many water tankers were rushed to put out the fire." The Directorate General of Civil Aviation sent a team to investigate what went wrong. "The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct a detailed probe into the crash. A DGCA team is already on its way to the spot," Director General of Civil Aviation BS Bhullar was quoted as telling the Press Trust of India.<doc-sep>
Prabhat Kathuria's wife Marya Zuberi was among the five killed in the plane crash in Mumbai. Highlights Marya Zuberi's husband questioned if the aircraft was fit to fly Pilots were sure permission for test flight will not be granted, he said He said that neither government nor company had contacted the family The husband of the co-pilot of the chartered plane, which crashed in suburban Ghatkopar on Thursday, sought to know who cleared the flight despite the adverse weather conditions and if the aircraft was fit for flying. Prabhat Kathuria, the husband of Marya Zuberi, the co-pilot who along with four others was killed in the incident, is still to come to terms with the loss. In a statement issued in Mumbai, he said, "The company involved in the ill-fated plane's repairs seems to have been incapable of detecting the technical snags that could have led to its crash." Mr Kathuria said that his wife had mentioned to him that the weather conditions were not conducive for a test flight to be conducted for a small plane like Beechcraft King Air C90 aircraft. "She left the house assuring me she would return rather soon as the weather conditions were clearly not right for a test flight of a small plane such as the Beachcraft King Air twin turboprop," he said. "She was sure that the permission to undertake such a flight would not be given," the statement read. "Considering Captain (Pradip) Rajput held and shared the same view with Marya, I was confident they would not fly this day. The weather conditions were just not right," he said. Mr Kathuria also questioned if the aircraft was fit to fly. "We know that the aircraft was well beyond its prime. We know it was more than 20 years old. We know it had already had an accident in 2009 and that the UP government chose to sell it rather than spend on its repairs. Considering all... the family of Marya Zuberi wants answers. We want to know who exactly was at fault," he said. Mr Kathuria said UY Aviation, the owners of the aircraft, "seem to have completely disregarded their responsibility to check whether such a plane should go off the ground". Pointing out that the DGCA norms do not permit test flights of small planes in the rainy weather, Mr Kathuria asked who allowed the flight to take off in the first place. "Did officers within the agency allow the flight, that clearly flouted its own norms? We want to know who took the call from DGCA's side," he said. Mr Kathuria also said that neither government agencies nor the owner of the aircraft had contacted the family members of the victims since the crash. "So far the government structures and the companies have both failed us... The families of the victims are still to receive a word from any of these agencies," he said. Five people -- four crew members including two pilots and a pedestrian -- lost their lives when the 12-seater plane crashed into an under-construction building on Thursday afternoon.