I'm flying in 'sick-aircraft': Mumbai plane crash victim told father
Maintenance engineer Surabhi Gupta, one of the five killed in Mumbai plane crash yesterday, had told her father over the phone that she was going to fly in a "sick aircraft". Surabhi's father SP Gupta, who lives in Sonepat, said, "She said the aircraft was in bad condition." "How was permission given to fly a sick aircraft and who gave this permission," Gupta asked.
Victim's father hopeful that people responsible will be held accountable
Gupta said he was confident that a high-level probe would be conducted by authorities and people responsible will be held accountable. Surabhi got married last year and her husband too was a pilot, said her father. He recalled that Surabhi was often referred to as astronaut Kalpana Chawla by local residents in their home town in Uttar Pradesh.
Aircraft crashed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, killing 5
"Recently, she was honored by the Maharashtra government. She was a brave young woman, who was fond of heights," Gupta said. The 12-seater aircraft crashed in Ghatkopar, killing both pilots and two aircraft maintenance engineers on board, besides a pedestrian. The aircraft had taken off from the Juhu airstrip on a test flight. It lost control when it was 4 nautical-miles from Juhu.
