A training aircraft belonging to a private aviation institute crashed in a residential area of Amreli's Shastri Nagar in Gujarat on Tuesday, killing the pilot on board. The incident triggered panic in the neighbourhood after the crash was followed by a loud explosion.

Fire and police teams rushed to the site and began rescue operations. The area was cordoned off to ensure the safety of residents.

"A training aircraft of Vision Flying Institute, Amreli, crashed in the Shastri Nagar area today. The aircraft was being flown by Aniket Mahajan, who died in the crash," Deputy SP Chirag Desai said.

This is the second such incident involving a training aircraft in Gujarat in the last month. In March, another training aircraft from a flying school crashed on the outskirts of a village in Mehsana district.

On March 31, a woman trainee pilot was injured after a trainer aircraft belonging to a private aviation academy crash-landed in an open field at Ucharpi village near Mehsana. The incident was attributed to technical issues, according to Inspector DG Badva of Mehsana taluka police station.

Earlier, on April 3, a Jaguar fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed near Jamnagar during a routine training sortie. The crash claimed the life of 28-year-old Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav from Rewari, Haryana.

In an official statement, the Indian Air Force (IAF) revealed that the Jaguar fighter jet, a two-seater aircraft, took off from Jamnagar Airfield on a night mission when the pilots encountered a technical malfunction.

Source: India Today