Pilot and trainee injured after aircraft crashes in Vijayapura district

A pilot and a trainee were injured when a training aircraft crashed in a field near Mangalooru village near Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district in Karnataka on Sunday (February 8, 2026).

Police shifted the injured Captain Kunal Malhotra as well as assistant flight instructor and trainee Goutham Shankar, to the hospital. They are recovering.

Training aircraft crashes in Vijayapura

A pilot and a trainee sustained injuries when a training aircraft crashed in a field near Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district in Karnataka on February 8, 2026. | Special arrangement
| Video Credit:
The Hindu

The two-seater plane belonging to the Red Bird Academy was going from Kalaburagi to Belagavi.

A crowd of farmers gathered around the crash site. A young man called the Babaleshwar police station, and officers arrived within minutes.

Babaleshwar police shifted the injured Captain Kunal Malhotra as well as assistant flight instructor and trainee Goutham Shankar, to the hospital.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Eye-witnesses told local police officers that the flight nose dived into the field and turned turtle. However, the two occupants had ejected themselves before the crash. The captain and trainee suffered minor injuries and were bleeding. The police rushed them to a private hospital in Babaleshwar. SP Laxman Nimbargi said that both were safe and were recovering.

Police are recording the statements of farmers at the spot. A case is being registered.