AAIB Preliminary Report on Kanpur Crash Flags Gaps in Garg Aviation's Flight Data Monitoring

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has flagged shortcomings in flight data monitoring at Garg Aviation in its preliminary report on the August 27 crash of a training aircraft near Kanpur, which killed both occupants.

According to the report, the flying training organisation told investigators that it carried out random monitoring of data from the aircraft's Garmin system, but kept no records of this activity and had no standard operating procedure setting out how the monitoring was done or which exceedance limits applied. The bureau has recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation direct Garg Aviation and other flying training organisations to follow the flight data monitoring requirements laid down in the regulator's 2022 circular, and issue detailed guidelines that form part of the Training and Procedures Manual.

No distress call, no recorders

The Tecnam P2006T, registration VT-NBV, took off from Kanpur's Civil Aerodrome at about 11:11 am for a sortie involving abnormal and emergency procedures and manoeuvres. Around 11:25 am the crew radioed "Ops Normal" and said they would call again after ten minutes. No further transmission came. The controller tried to reach the aircraft and asked other aircraft to establish contact, without success. The Chief Flight Instructor, initially suspecting a radio failure, took off with another instructor at 11:50 am to look for the plane; at 12:10 pm Garg Aviation was told it had force-landed near the Ganga Barrage.

The aircraft made no distress call. Local residents alerted police on the 112 helpline, and the two occupants were taken to a Kanpur hospital, where they were declared dead. The aircraft was destroyed on impact, though there was no fire.

The plane had a Garmin G950 glass cockpit that records flight data, but no cockpit voice recorder or digital flight data recorder. Damaged Garmin units have been retrieved and preserved, and data from the recovered Garmin card has been downloaded for analysis.

Weather and crew details

Mist, rain, low clouds and cumulonimbus activity were recorded around the time of the accident. Visibility at Kanpur Air Force Station was 5,000 metres at 11:00 am. Advisories that morning warned of thunderstorms, rain, mist, poor visibility and low clouds, including one citing visibility below 1 km and low clouds with bases between 300 and 150 metres. The report records these conditions but does not establish them as the cause.

The 39-year-old instructor held a Commercial Pilot Licence with 3,337 hours and 59 minutes of total flying experience, including 283 hours and five minutes on the Tecnam P2006T. The 28-year-old trainee held a Student Pilot Licence with 199 hours and 25 minutes of total experience, four hours of it on the type. Both held valid licences and medical certificates, and both tested negative in pre-flight breath analyser checks.

Investigation scope

Both engines have been quarantined for detailed examination, and fuel and oil samples from the aircraft and fuel barrels have been collected. Investigators have examined and photographed the site and wreckage, moved the wreckage to a secured location, and gathered airframe, propeller and engine logbooks, radio records, work orders, flight report books, weather records and other operational documents. Papers on the crew and aircraft have been sought from the DGCA, and information has been requested from Chakeri Air Traffic Control.

Italy's ANSV and the US National Transportation Safety Board are assisting, with accredited representatives and a technical adviser from Tecnam taking part under ICAO Annex 13. The bureau has not assigned a cause, stressing that the investigation aims to prevent future accidents rather than fix blame, and that its preliminary findings may change.