A private training aircraft crashed in an open field in Karnataka's Vijayapura district on Sunday, with both pilots ejecting safely moments before impact and sustaining only minor injuries, officials said.
The incident occurred in Mangaluru village in the Babaleshwar area, following which police and emergency teams rushed to the spot. The cause of the crash is under investigation, though preliminary inputs point to a possible technical fault in the engine.
Police personnel from the Babaleshwar Police Station rushed to the spot soon after the crash and secured the area. The injured occupants were identified as Captain Kunal Malhotra and trainee pilot Goutam Sankar. Both were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
The aircraft, a Cessna 172 operated by Red Bird Aviation, was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi at the time of the incident. The pilots on board were identified as chief pilot Captain Kunal Malhotra, who serves as an Assistant Flight Instructor (AFI) with the company, and trainee pilot Gautam Shankar P R.
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the aircraft (registration VT-EUC, MSN-17265717) belonging to Red Bird Flying Training Academy Limited made an emergency landing in a field near Bagalkot, around 100 km east of Belagavi airport. Both the instructor and the cadet are safe, the spokesperson added.
Red Bird Aviation, also known as Redbird Airways, is India's largest flight training organisation. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company also operates private air charter and air ambulance services. Founded in 2018–19, Red Bird runs a fleet of modern glass-cockpit aircraft and conducts pilot training operations across multiple locations in India and Sri Lanka.
The incident adds to a series of aviation-related accidents reported over the past month.
On January 28, a business jet crash in Maharashtra claimed the life of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five others when a Learjet 45 Premium aircraft crashed while landing at Baramati Airport.
Vijayapura(Karnataka)-Two Injured After Private Training Aircraft Crashes in Vijayapura ,A Red Bird private training aircraft crashed at Mangalore village in Babaleshwar taluk of Vijayapura district on Sunday.@aviationbrk @xAviation pic.twitter.com/4dbausb2Vc
— Rishi Tripathi (@IndiatvRishi) February 8, 2026
Earlier, on January 21, an Indian Air Force training aircraft crashed into a pond in Prayagraj after wobbling mid-air. Both pilots aboard the two-seater aircraft were rescued safely.
Trainer Aircraft belonging to the Red Bird Aviation crash lands at a farm land in Vijayapura. Captain Kunal Malhotra & Trainee pilot Goutham Sankar were on board as they were flying from Kalaburgi to Belgavi, both shifted to a hospital, said to be out of danger. pic.twitter.com/OeQJzZtHmP
— Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) February 8, 2026
On January 10, a 9-seater India One Air aircraft made a forced landing in an open field in Rourkela, Odisha, after the pilot detected a technical fault and issued a MAYDAY call. All passengers and crew escaped unhurt.
