Mumbai plane crash: Husband of pilot killed blames aviation company

Questions are being raised both on the condition of the plane and why it was allowed to take off on a test flight from Juhu airstrip under bad weather.

Mumbai: Five people were killed when a chartered plane crashed in the Ghatkopar locality here on Thursday and among them was co-pilot Maria. Her husband has now accused the aviation company which owned the plane for the unfortunate and tragic incident.

All four on board the King Air C90 12-seater aircraft - pilot Captian Pradeep Rajput, co-pilot Maria, an engineer Surbhi and a technician - were killed in the tragedy while one person on ground too lost his life. Speaking to mediapersons, P Kuthariya said that his wife had informed him bad weather had grounded the plane. "The incident could have been averted. Maria had told me that the flight won't be flown due to bad weather. The aviation company is responsible for this unfortunate incident," he said.

The plane reportedly belonged to Mumbai's UV Aviation.

There were reports in the immediate aftermath of the crash that the plane belonged to the UP government but officials denied it. "The aircraft was sold it to Mumbai's UY Aviation. The deal was done after the plane had met with an accident in Allahabad," Principal Secretary Information Avnish Awasthi said.

While there are already suspicions about the condition of the plane and why it was allowed to fly in bad weather, eyewitness accounts reveal that an even bigger tragedy could have taken place had the plane crashed into a more crowded area or hit a high-rise instead of an open space.