Aircraft of Sagar Pawan Aerobatic Team Crashes into Building

An aircraft of a naval aerobatic team crashed on Wednesday during an airshow in Hyderabad, killing the pilot and co-pilot along with a civilian and injuring seven others on the ground.

Photo: Aircraft of Sagar Pawan Aerobatic Team Crashes into Building

The Kiran MK-II plane, which was part of the 'Sagar Pawan' aerobatic team participating in a display at the India Aviation show, crashed into a building, Hyderabad Police Commissioner A K Khan said.

The plane, which was part of a formation of four aircraft, crashed into a three-storeyed building at Bowenpally area near Begumpet airport where the airshow was on, Indian Express reports.

Terming the crash of a naval aircraft here during an international civil aviation exhibition as "unfortunate", Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday said the tragedy will not affect the event in any way.

"These kinds of mishaps have happened during such events in the past the world over. It is very unfortunate but I don't think this (aircraft crash) will any way hamper or effect the event," the minister told IANS.

According to a civil aviation ministry official, there were five such crashes during air shows in the world last year. Similarly there were four such crashes during air shows in 2008 and seven in 2007, Hindustan Times reports.

"The pilot is dead. So far one building is damaged. We have to see how many people were inside it... Four persons have been injured," he said adding that the injured had been sent to a hospital. The cause of the crash is being ascertained, the official said.

Black smoke billowed from the building after the crash and firemen were seen at work. Fuel could also be seen dripping from the mangled remains of the aircraft.

Police cordoned off the crash site and had a trying time keeping at bay a large crowd of onlookers, RTT News reports.