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dated December 13, 1953: Night Plane Crashes in Nagpur

The twin-engined Dakota VT-CHE, flying the night mail service from Nagpur to Madras crashed almost immediately after taking off from Sonegaon airport at about 3.20 a.m. on the 12th, killing all 10 passengers and three of the crew. Pilot Cartner who had sustained a deep cut on his forehead and complained of intense pain all over was admitted in the Medical College hospital, and put under treatment.

The spot, where the aircraft smashed down fatally and burned fiercely, was about two miles due west of Sonegaon airport. Staff of the airport had glimpsed the plane going down. Also, while the control tower received radio messages from other planes which had also just taken off, there was no radio message or response from the one bound for Madras.

Pilot Cartner was found about 20 to 30 feet away from the main wreckage. The plane had crashed in a plain field with no trees or any other obstruction. People recalled that that when a night plane from Madras crashed previously at Nagpur, it had hit the top of a tree while landing. The first impression was that, just after take-off, one of the two engines failed completely and the pilot, attempting a desperate belly-landing, could not save the plane. Among the passenger victims of the disaster were: Mr. Harihar Nath Sastri (48), M.P., President of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and General Secretary of the INTUC; Mr. Radha Krishna Vaish (54), Collector of Central Excise, Madras; Mr. Raghunandan Saran (52), Managing Director of Ashok Motors, Madras; and Dr. P. M. Warrier, President of the Kerala branch of the All-India Ayurvedic Congress, and his wife. The Warriers were holding return tickets to Mangalore from Bombay, but the doctor changed his mind on the 11th and decided to take the night plane to Madras to meet Governor Mr. Sri Prakasa who was to inaugurate the 39th session of the Ayurvedic Congress in Kottakkal.

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