5 dead, including one on ground, as chartered plane crashes in Mumbai

Mumbai: Five people were killed when a chartered plane crashed into a construction site in a thickly-populated central suburb of Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon.

The plane was about to land at the airport, when it crashed nearby in Ghatkopar.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the crash site in Ghatkopar to assess the situation. He said, "It is a worrying incident. What were the reasons behind the crash and who is responsible for it needs to be found out." 

Among those dead were two pilots, two aircraft maintenance engineers, who were also on board, and one person on the ground, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

(Photo: Shripad Naik)

The small aircraft, which was on a test flight, crashed in Sarvodaya Nagar of Ghatkopar area a little after 1 pm.  

Police officers, fire brigade and disaster management teams immediately rushed to the spot, Akhilesh Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-7) told news agency PTI. 

The aircraft was a Beechcraft King Air C90 turboprop.

Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary, Information, Avnish Awasthi said the plane had been sold by his state to a Mumbai company, UY Aviation, after it had met with an accident earlier in Allahabad. 

"A DGCA team will conduct a preliminary investigation into the crash," said DG Civil Aviation B S Bhullar, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau would also launch a detailed probe. 

A video on Twitter showed a burning body near the crash site. 

Images showed thick flames and black smoke rising from the wreckage.

The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft had taken off from the Juhu airport on a test flight, an official said.