Female cadet pilot injured after being struck by running propeller during deboarding at Kanpur FTO
LUCKNOW: A cadet pilot hailing from New Delhi, injured her lower back after being struck by a running propeller while deboarding a twin engine training aircraft at Garg Aviation’s Flying Training Organisation (FTO) in Kanpur.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an inquiry into the incident, while the instructor involved has been off-rostered and the aircraft grounded pending investigation.The incident occurred on June 26 after a night instructional sortie on a Tecnam P2006T aircraft (VT-NBV). While the exact sequence of events will be established by the DGCA investigation, Garg Aviation Safety Manager Group Captain Rajeev Bhalla, shared the institute’s account with TOI of what transpired and the steps taken immediately afterwards.According to Bhalla, the accident took place at around 8.40 pm after the aircraft had landed and was coming to a halt. He said the cadet, identified as 22-year-old Riya Batra, attempted to get out of the aircraft before both engines had been switched off. He said the standard operating procedure requires pilots to remain seated until the engines are completely shut down before exiting the aircraft.Bhalla maintained that the aircraft’s design makes it highly unusual for someone to exit while the propellers are still running. He said the reason the trainee attempted to deboard before engine shutdown is one of the questions that remains unanswered and is likely to be examined during the ongoing investigation.According to the safety manager, the instructor on board, Captain Raunak, who has around 5,000 flying hours of experience, noticed the cadet attempting to step out. He said the instructor immediately shouted at her to stop and simultaneously switched off the engines. However, before the engines came to a complete stop, one of the propellers struck the cadet on the back and buttock region, leaving her injured.Bhalla said the organisation initiated emergency medical assistance immediately after the accident. First aid was administered at the airfield by doctors and the Chief Flying Instructor, following which the cadet was shifted to private multispecialty hospital in Kanpur, for specialised treatment. According to him, doctors advised that stitches be carried out after obtaining consent from her parents, who travelled from Delhi and reached the hospital on Saturday morning. The procedure was subsequently performed under local anaesthesia.The safety manager said the cadet is currently admitted to a normal hospital room and is recovering. According to the institute’s assessment, the injuries are not expected to end her aviation career, and she is likely to resume flying within two to two and a half months.Sharing details of the cadet’s training record, Bhalla said she had completed around 185 flying hours on single engine aircraft and had only recently begun multi engine training. The June 26 flight was her third sortie on a multi engine aircraft, part of the mandatory 15 hour syllabus.He said she had joined Garg Aviation about a year ago after transferring from a flying school in Amritsar, where she had been progressing slowly. After shifting to Kanpur, he said, she had been happy with the training environment and was enjoying her flying lessons. He described her performance as average and said the institute had not noticed any earlier conduct that would have indicated such an incident.On the regulatory front, Bhalla confirmed that the DGCA is carrying out a formal inquiry. He said the decision to off roster Captain Raunak from instructional duties is a standard safety measure followed after such occurrences and had been implemented by the institute. The aircraft involved has also been grounded and will remain out of service until technical inspections and safety clearance are completed.The DGCA investigation is expected to determine the precise circumstances that led to the accident and whether all operational procedures were followed.
