Naval chief says in Bhopal pilots may have tried to minimize damage to civilian areas

Crash of Indian Naval aircraft on top of building in Hyderabad killing two pilots
Naval chief says in Bhopal pilots may have tried to minimize damage to civilian areas

Bhopal, March 03 (Pervez Bari): Indian Naval Force Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has said that the pilots of the naval aircraft which crashed in Hyderabad around noon during the India Aviation air-show being held there on Wednesday may have tried to minimize damage by crashing into a water-tank on the top of a three-storied building there.
Verma, who was on a two day visit to Bhopal, while talking to newspersons said the pilots did not eject. So, the possibility is that either time wise there was a problem or they were trying to minimize the damage to civilian areas.
He informed that a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident and senior officials of the force's air arm were already in Hyderabad.
Both the pilots flying the Kiran Mk II aircraft of Indian Navy's Sagar Pawan Aerobatics team died in the crash. The pilots were Commander S K Maurya, who hailed from Sultanpur in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and Lt. Commander Rahul Nair who belonged to Delhi.
When pestered about the reasons behind the crash, Verma said, "It would be premature to say anything on that at present. Till the officers analyze the reasons I cannot make assign any reason for that".
"The inputs that I have got is that about seven people are injured," he said, adding, "I have to wait for more information. It is premature for me to say what could have caused the crash at this stage".
According to media reports Hyderabad Police Commissioner AK Khan said the plane crashed into the residential building which had a cell-phone tower on top. A car parked outside the building was smashed as one of the plane's wings fell on it. The injured have been sent to a hospital, Khan said.
Meanwhile, the Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma paid a courtesy visit to the Madhya Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Tuesday. During the courtesy visit, Admiral Verma presented a silver naval memento to the Chief Minister Chouhan. On this occasion, the Chief Minister Chouhan too presented a set of special literature centered on Madhya Pradesh to the visiting Navy Chief. (pervezbari@eth.net).