Chartered plane crashed due to technical flaw, says BJP MLA Ram Kadam

At least five people were killed in a small chartered plane crashed in the thickly populated suburb of Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai on Thursday. The pilot used presence of mind to avert a very big disaster by trying to land near the under-construction building and not near the highly-populated localities. Unfortunately, he too lost his life in the tragic accident.

"Two pilots, two Aircraft Maintenance Engineers on board & one person on ground are dead in the chartered plane crash in Mumbai's Ghatkopar," said Directorate General of Civil Aviation to news agency ANI.

Eyewitnesses at Sarvodaya Nagar said the plane was seen hurtling down amid rain and crashed with a deafening roar before bursting into flames at around 1.30 p.m. Local residents said they heard two to three explosions and assumed it was a gas cylinder blast. The cause of which is not known - occurred in the premises of a building under construction.

As per preliminary information, the aircraft was on a test flight and had taken off from the Juhu Airport minutes before it crashed, reported news agency IANS.

ABP News Sources said the aircraft did not belong to UP Govt. It was sold in 2014 to a private company UY Aviation. UY aviation is owned by one Kothari.

Disturbing visuals of a man caught on fire emerged after the crash. He was also said to be killed in the crash. It appears he was a worker at the construction site as a measuring tape was found from his pocket.

The plane reportedly belongs to Uttar Pradesh government. A DGCA team on way to Mumbai for preliminary investigation into plane crash,"said DG Civil Aviation B S Bhullar to news agency PTI. "Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to conduct detailed probe into the crash, " he said.

Investigators are trying to find the black box that provides invaluable data and helps in figuring out what led to the crash.