Vancouver: In a heartbreaking aviation accident, two student pilots lost their lives after their training aircraft collided mid-air near Steinbach in Manitoba, Canada. Among the victims was 22-year-old Sreehari Sukesh, a native of Kochi, Kerala, and 20-year-old Savannah May Royce.
The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday during a routine training session when both aircraft attempted to land at the same time. The collision occurred just meters from a small runway used for pilot instruction.
The planes involved were single-engine training aircraft — a Cessna 152 and a Cessna 172 — operated by Harv’s Air, a well-known local flight training school. In the wake of the incident, Harv’s Air has temporarily halted all flight operations.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has launched a formal investigation to determine the cause of the fatal crash.
