The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Trainee pilot dies in plane crash

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Saturday, Mar 05, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Trainee pilot dies in plane crash

By Our Staff Reporter

SIVAMPET (MEDAK DISTRICT), MARCH 4. An Indian Air Force plane crashed into a hillock near Pambanda village in Sivampet mandal today, killing its lone trainee pilot Sparsh Rana (21).

K. Ravinder of the IAF police, who along with his men cordoned off the accident site to keep at bay curious villagers, told reporters that Rana took off from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal at around 11 a.m. and after a few minutes they lost contact with him. Incidentally, the wristwatch of Rana found at the site stopped at 11.05 a.m.

Farmers of nearby Charlapalli village said they saw the single-seater training plane making a U-turn and flying unusually low a few minutes before it crashed. Narender Reddy of the village said, " I saw smoke and the plane turning upside down before crashing."

Villagers who saw smoke and heard a big bang ran up the hillock only to find the burning wreckage of the plane. The body of the pilot could be seen in sitting position with the safety belt still wrapped around it. The local police and air force personnel extricated the remains of the pilot and took them to the base in a helicopter. According to the Toopran DSP, G. Mohan Reddy, Sparsh Rana was the son of Lt. Colonel S.P.N. Rana and a resident of New Delhi.

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