Hyderabad, July 31 (IANS): An Indian Air Force (IAF) trainer aircraft crashed in Andhra Pradesh Friday, killing both its pilots, police said.
A piston-engine HPT-32 aircraft crashed into a farm at Annaram village of Jinnaram Mandal in Medak district, about 100 km from here.
Police said the aircraft crashed soon after it took off from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
According to Medak police chief M. Kantha Rao the two pilots, Squadron Leaders Ritin Jain and Nitin Chaturvedi died on the spot. Both of them were instructors.
A technical snag is believed to have led to the crash, police said.
This is the latest in a series of crashes in Andhra Pradesh. On Sep 8 last year, a Cessna 152 aircraft had crashed in the Sanathnagar residential area here, killing a trainee pilot and the instructor. The aircraft belonged to the Andhra Pradesh
Aviation Academy. There were no casualties on the ground.
On Sep 11, 2007, two IAF pilots died when a Kiran aircraft crashed in the Hakimpet area on the outskirts of Hyderabad.