Vancouver: A tragic aviation accident during a routine flight training session in Canada has claimed the lives of two young student pilots one of whom hails from Kerala, India. The deceased have been identified as Srihari Sukesh, a native of Kochi, and Savannah May Royce, a 20-year-old Canadian trainee.
The fatal collision occurred on Tuesday in the Steinbach region of Manitoba, when two small aircraft a Cessna 152 and a Cessna 172 operated by Harv’s Air Flight Training School, collided mid-air. The crash took place just a few meters from the training airstrip, reportedly during landing maneuvers when both planes attempted to descend simultaneously.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene, but both pilots succumbed to their injuries before help could arrive. The incident has shocked the local aviation community and has prompted Harv’s Air to temporarily halt all flight operations.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has launched a formal investigation to determine the cause of the crash. Preliminary information suggests a possible lapse in communication or coordination during the critical landing phase.
Srihari Sukesh, who had been pursuing his dream of becoming a pilot, had enrolled in the prestigious Harv’s Air Academy and was known to be a passionate and diligent student. News of his untimely death has left his family and community in deep mourning.
The aviation fraternity awaits answers as investigators examine flight data, communication logs, and eyewitness testimonies to reconstruct the moments leading up to the fatal accident.