A private training aircraft crashed into an open field in the Mangaluru village of Babaleshwar taluk on Sunday afternoon, leaving both the captain and a trainee pilot injured, officials and early reports confirmed.

The light aircraft, operated by Redbird Aviation and believed to be on a routine training flight, was travelling from Kalaburagi to Belagavi when it suddenly developed a technical glitch in its engine, according to police and preliminary investigations. The malfunction forced the pilot to attempt an emergency landing in a field within the Babaleshwar Police Station limits.

Eyewitnesses recounted tense moments as the plane descended rapidly before making contact with the ground. The aircraft sustained significant damage on impact, with parts of it scattered across the rural terrain. Despite the severity of the crash landing, there were no fatalities.

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Both the captain and the trainee pilot were seriously injured in the incident and were promptly transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital in Vijayapura for urgent medical treatment. Local emergency services and police arrived at the crash site shortly after receiving reports, securing the area and coordinating the initial rescue efforts.

Authorities have indicated that the engine malfunction remains the primary suspect in causing the crash, but a detailed inquiry is underway. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to participate in the investigation to establish the exact sequence of events and assess maintenance and safety protocols associated with the aircraft.

The incident has prompted renewed attention to flight training safety standards in civil aviation, especially concerning technical inspections and emergency preparedness during training sorties. Local aviation and police officials have reiterated that while the prompt response helped avert a more serious outcome, a comprehensive probe will determine if additional factors contributed to the aircraft’s loss of control.

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