Mumbai crash: Brave pilots who sacrificed themselves to save hundreds
Yesterday's Mumbai crash has brought to the fore tales of heroism about the two people in charge, Chief Pilot Pradeep Rajput and Co-pilot Maria Zuberi, who saved many lives by directing the aircraft towards a vacant construction site. Both families have claimed none wanted to fly the King Air C-90 due to bad weather. But they did, and they died, along with three others.
Zuberi had 1,000 flying hours in her records
Forty-seven-year-old Zuberi's husband Prabhat Kathuria said she was the first pilot in her family, with 17 years of experience. The Allahabad native, who stayed in Mira Road, had recently thrown a party after her daughter cleared the board exams. Yesterday, she told Kathuria she might return early as the flight might be cancelled. But when he messaged her in the noon, he received no reply.
Husband raises questions on UY's conduct
Kathuria raised several questions on what had happened, claiming Rajput didn't want to fly either. "I wonder what happened- was it that the company (UY Aviation) pushed them to fly?" adding she had even flown a Dassault Falcon. He also alleged "possible technical snags," and rued UY didn't even inform them about the accident; he only got to know from the news, he said.
'The incident could have been averted'
Chief Pilot Rajput had shared similar worries with his family
Rajput's family has similar allegations. "Pradeep was an experienced pilot and had been working for 20-25 years," said his brother-in-law Kulwinder Chauhan. "I wonder why they were asked to fly," because he too had spoken about the bad weather, Chauhan added. Rajput, who is survived by his wife, son and daughter, had come from Delhi specially for the test flight, TOI reports.
One technician was reportedly two-months pregnant
Accompanying Zuberi and Rajput were technicians Manish Pandey and Surabhi Gupta. Surabhi from Badaun had gotten married to a pilot last June and was reportedly pregnant. Manish had gotten married a year ago too, and had moved into a rented flat in Vasai five months earlier. His mother was in town since a week. Both worked with Indemar Aviation, a maintenance company.
Locals described those few moments of panic
The minutes preceding the crash yesterday were some harrowing moments for the locals. "The plane went past my balcony, and was so close I thought it would crash into my building," Anant Kandhor told HT. "The plane circled low over our locality and then crashed into the barricades around the construction site and a tree," said Haribhai Patel.
All bodies were severely burnt in the accident
Despite panic, the plane, which had taken off from the Juhu Aerodrome, crashed in a construction site. All four, and a pedestrian, were killed. Thirty workers were saved as they were out for lunch, an official at the site said. The accident was ghastly: a witness reported seeing a man on flames. All bodies were severely charred, so had to be identified by their teeth.
'Salute to the pilot who showed presence of mind'
Police now awaiting DNA reports before handing over the bodies
The crash has put UY in the dock. According to reports, the aircraft was last flown in February'08. It also reportedly didn't have mandatory certificates for airworthiness. Yesterday was its first test flight after repairs, the company admitted. Indamer was responsible for maintenance. Police are now awaiting DNA reports before handing over the bodies to the families, but locals can't thank the pilots enough.
